Crash investigators check 800 motor cases yearly

General Adjustment Expertise Sdn Bhd, a loss-adjusting firm in Malaysia, handles over 800 motor insurance claim cases annually, according to Jegatheesan Balakrishnan, the investigation manager. Each investigator manages around 65 cases per month, with eight to ten of these cases involving fraudulent or exaggerated claims. Their team comprises four specialists in car accident investigations and 12 who deal with bodily injury claims.

These cases range from simple cases of parked and damaged vehicles with false police reports to complex, staged multi-vehicle collisions. In straightforward cases, motorists might hit obstacles and falsely claim other vehicles were responsible. In more complicated scenarios, syndicates or third parties may stage accidents using pre-damaged or defectively built vehicles to file fraudulent claims.

Some workshops contribute to fraud by adding pre-existing damage to a single front-end collision claim. Investigators regularly inspect accident scenes, inspecting impact measurements, surroundings, CCTV footage, and interviewing nearby residents. Modern vehicle technology, like post-crash assistance systems and dashcams, provides crucial objective evidence, but AI introduces new challenges.

Artificial intelligence makes tampering with evidence easier, such as manipulated scene photographs and falsified timestamps. Jegatheesan emphasized that safety features in newer vehicles help facilitate post-crash assistance, and dashcams can identify accidents. The Motor Data Research Consortium Malaysia, under Bank Negara Malaysia, standardised spare part pricing and labour hours, leading to a reduction in inflated costs from workshops and disputes over repair costs.