The Alliance for Insurance Reform warmly welcomed the establishment of an Insurance Fraud Coordination Office (IFCO) under the control of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) to help combat fraudulent and exaggerated insurance claims.

Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The Alliance has been campaigning for the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit from Day One and we warmly welcome today’s news. It marks a major step in the battle against insurance fraud, formalising as it does a structured and streamlined approach by the Gardaí. It will act as a significant deterrent to anyone considering making a fictitious or exaggerated claim.”

Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “The establishment of IFCO is the first step in the eradication of the scourge of insurance fraud. There are two more significant steps required to make sure this initiative works. 

“Firstly, insurers must take fraud seriously, by stepping up their anti-fraud capacity through ‘The recruitment of suitably trained personnel and the development of various technological means of combating fraud’ as recommended by the Personal Injuries Commission chaired by Justice Nicholas Kearns. The days of settling fraudulent claims as an expedient and then passing the cost of this approach on to society must end.

“Secondly, we call on the Garda Commissioner to urgently establish Divisional structures to counter fraud. This initiative was announced by An Garda Siochana in 2019 but nothing has happened on it since.”