Filenews 3 May 2025 - by Vasos Vassiliou
In the end, we have not seen everything and everything that circulates in the world of vehicle insurance and literally causes "shock and awe".
The reason for staged road accidents which are not limited to individual individuals since there are nuanced indications that organized interests have also been involved in the whole scheme.
In fact, the field of action of those involved in the rigging seems to cover the entire territory, although in one province the problem seems to have become too much. In the whole process, in addition to the masterminds, it seems that individual professionals who are active in vehicle repair are also involved. Based on the same information, the suitcase goes further since, in some cases, "eyewitnesses" are allegedly involved in the set-up who see what seems to be convenient for the circuit.
For rigged accidents, every year insurance companies are estimated to pay a total of several million euros and it is characteristic that in some cases the claims and compensations amount to many thousands of euros.
This specific dimension in the field of insurance began to be discussed on the occasion of a law proposal by DISY MP Mr. Dimitris Demetriou, which provides for the movement of vehicles in case of minor accidents, which seems to be accepted by the majority of MPs, given that it is estimated that it will reduce the inconvenience of thousands of drivers who wait for a long time because, even when minor material damage is caused, queues are created until the insurance companies of the drivers involved in an accident arrive on the scene.
With Mr. Demetriou's proposal, the vehicles, after being photographed by their drivers, will be moved, in order to open the way for traffic.
It is noted that Mr. Demetriou, who was informed about rigged accidents, when asked about it by "F", mentioned that their percentage is small, so they should not stand in the way of reducing the inconvenience of drivers. It is worth noting that, as a result of minor accidents, thousands of people are delayed in arriving at their jobs, business appointments, health appointments and so on are cancelled. And when at some point the road is opened for vehicles, there is a risk of causing other or even more serious accidents in the drivers' attempt to make up for lost time and reach their destination on time.
Mr. Demetriou's proposal, provided that everything will go smoothly, is expected to be approved by July, when the Parliament suspends its work for the summer holidays.
Regarding the issue of staged road accidents, we asked the General Director of the Cyprus Association of Insurance Companies (SAEK), Mr. Andreas Athanasiadis, who said:
"We can say that regarding the proposal for a law on minor accidents, we are concerned about the fact that rigging and fraud will increase. We are also concerned about whether vehicles should be allowed to move in all cases. We believe, added Mr. Athanasiadis, that the movement of vehicles in minor accidents in which a vehicle hits the front is an important step and a retreat on our part. These accidents are the usual minor accidents that both we and drivers encounter and concern the volume of collisions, so the inconvenience will be greatly reduced if the movements from the road surface concern these cases, said the general director of the Association of Insurance Companies.
"Insurance fraud cases will increase "
Mr. Athanasiadis referred us to the memorandum submitted by the Association to the Parliament, in which reference is also made to the "difficulties in implementing" the proposed law (for the movement of vehicles) in which the following are recorded:
"The absence of conditions for the movement of vehicles will enable some to take advantage of the situation to try to abdicate their responsibility by altering or distorting the data of the accident at the expense of others. At the same time, it is considered certain that the cases of insurance fraud will increase significantly, a problem that is already at very worrying levels."
I do not want to go into too much detail, but I assure you that we are facing a serious problem with rigged accidents and that the cost amounts to millions'', added the general director of the Association of Insurance Companies.
Two categories of rigged accidents
As for what happens with rigged accidents, we contacted insurers who, among other things, told us that there are two categories of rigged accidents, namely those for which claims reach up to €10,000 and those for which damages of up to €50,000-€60,000 are requested. The latest accidents involve more expensive vehicles and these are usually more organized. That is, the two drivers and the one who will repair it may be involved in them, while a witness to the accident, who will obviously be a false witness, may also be involved.
An aspect that concerns insurers is that some of these vehicles seem to be involved in more than one accident. After the first accident, the vehicle is insured with another company and at some stage it is involved in a new accident and compensation is claimed from another company. But why don't insurance companies communicate with each other? As we have been told, these vehicles are insured "against a third party", so in these cases they are not registered in a single list, so that it is immediately recognized that there is a previous accident, in order to take measures.
Of course, the above does not concern the citizen who suffers daily on the streets, which is why the Parliament seems determined to move forward.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Mr. Marinos Mousouttas, told "F" that Mr. Demetriou's proposed law alleviates or even solves a chronic problem and is treated as such. I believe that the discussion with all those involved has been exhausted and we are proceeding to approve it before the Parliament closes for the summer, said Mr. Mousiouttas.
