IN-CAR CAMERAS BECOME POLICE WITNESSES TO PROTECT DRIVERS FROM FRAUDULENT ACCIDENT CLAIMS
One in five motorists involved in a road accident face a rise in their insurance premium as a result of bogus or misleading information from unscrupulous drivers during the claims process.
This means many as 800,000 motorists* are failing victim to fraudsters each year and are left with no alternative but to pay a mimimum of £50 extra on their current premiums.
The startling findings, from in-car technology producer Nextbase, have led to a link-up with Halfords offering customers buying one of their high resolution in-car cameras (dash-cams) a free subscription to Police Witness – a service that holds dangerous drivers to account by presenting the footage to the authorities.
Halfords Automotive Manager Stuart Humphreys said: “We believe that the combination of a dash-cam and the Police Witness service offers drivers greater peace of mind and protection on the road.
“Acting as an independent witness should the need arise, they not only guard against fraud but means the shock and stress experienced following an accident isn’t compounded by a biased account of events that can lead to unfair rises in insurance premiums.”
Half of the people surveyed believe that driving standards in general would improve if more vehicles were fitted with cameras and well over a third (39%) said they would feel safer behind the wheel knowing that a dash-cam is on-board to verify events if required.
Psychologist an author Geoff Rolls welcomed the announcement: “Traffic accidents happen so quickly and cause such stress that it’s highly likely the recollections of the people involved will be sketchy - even without taking into account the fact that people naturally interpret things to their own advantage.
“Dash-cams provide a solution to this problem and can even discourage dangerous or inconsiderate driving by making motorists accountable for actions – such as swearing, gesturing and cutting-up other drivers which can lead to road rage.”
The popularity of dash-cams has notably been boosted by the growth in so-called ‘crash for cash’ scams - where innocent motorists are targeted, often by organised gangs, who cause incidents deliberately in order to make fraudulent claims.
Almost six in ten of those questioned surveyed said that they would fit a camera if it helped lower the cost of their insurance and earlier this week Swiftcover became the first major insurance provider to offer discounts to motorists using dash-cams – following in the footsteps of specialist providers such as Adrian Flux.
The British Insurance Association estimates that deliberate fraud and other opportunist claims for injuries, such as whiplash costs the industry over £1billion a year – a cost which is passed on to motorists through higher premiums – and a further £2 billion of false claims may also go undetected.
Nextbase in-car cameras, with free Police Witness subscription, are available in Halfords stores and via www.halfords.com from today.
Ends
Media contacts:
Stuart Humphreys, Automotive PR Manager, T: 01527 513410, E: stuart.humphreys@halfords.co.uk
James Dale, PR Coordinator, T: 01527 513315, E: james.dale@halfords.co.uk
Editor’s Notes:
*Based on 4 million motor insurance claims a year made by private motorists and commercial drivers
Driver attitude research conducted by Atomik Research during April 2014 – sample size 1002
Nextbase in-car cameras are available from £69.99 to £149.99 at Halfords stores and from www.halfords.com
The Police Witness subscription available when purchasing Nextbase in-car cameras is available exclusively through Halfords.
Halfords Group plc
The Group is the UK's leading retailer of automotive, leisure and cycling products and through Halfords Autocentres also one of the UK's leading independent car servicing and repair operator. Halfords customers shop at over 460 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland and at halfords.com for pick-up at their local store or direct home delivery. Halfords Autocentres operates from over 300 sites nationally and offers motorists dealership-quality MOTs, repairs and car servicing at affordable prices.
Nextbase
Nextbase specialises in car-oriented products including in-car cameras and DVD players. From its Head Office in West End, Surrey, Nextbase UK provides sales, support and customer service to major UK retailers as sole distributor of Nextbase products, whilst it’s Technical Centre in Caerphilly, South Wales, carries out research and development work.
Dr Geoff Rolls
Dr Geoff Rolls gained his B.Sc and Ph.D from the University of Southampton, where for nine years he investigated Psychological Aspects of Car Driver Behaviour. Dr Rolls is a published author of titles including ‘Women Can’t Park, Men Can’t Pack’ (Chambers 2009), which investigates gender stereotypes (including driving) and is currently Head of Psychology at Peter Symonds College, Winchester.
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