THE backlash against the compensation culture has taken a new turn with the creation of a fraud investigation firm's first base in Greater Manchester.

Until now, The Cotswold Group has operated solely from offices in Cheltenham, although it employs dozens of surveillance staff throughout the country.

Their job is to gather evidence for insurance companies which suspect people seeking damages following road or works accidents are exaggerating or making up their claims.

The group also investigates organised insurance fraud, particularly in relation to motor claims.

It is estimated that between 10 and 15 per cent of all claims lodged in the UK are fraudulent, and bogus claims are reckoned to be costing insurers more than £2bn a year.

Former Greater Manchester police officer Cath Williams, 40, is heading The Cotswold Group's new northern operation from offices in Brindley Road, Old Trafford.

Cath, a married mother of two teenagers, spent six years with the Greater Manchester force including a spell on the front line during the Moss Side riots in the early 1980s. She was head of motor fraud prevention at Norwich Union before she joined The Cotswold Group last year.

Now Cath is recruiting a team of investigators and case managers for the northern venture.

"We investigate claims when insurers' suspicions are aroused," said Cath.

The Cotswold Group is a growing company with turnover of £3m. Cath said the firm was making a "significant investment" in Greater Manchester.

Uncovered

Recently, its investigators have exposed:

• A man allegedly confined to a wheelchair following a smash who said he needed round-the-clock care and had his quality of life ruined. He was spotted outside a B&Q store loading sacks of compost into his car boot with one hand - while holding his grandchild in the other arm;
  
• A man who suffered a broken leg and a crushed foot in a smash, and allegedly walked with a limp - then was spotted playing golf;
  
• A claimant seeking compensation for serious eye damage suffered in a works accident. He entered a supermarket wearing dark glasses and using a white stick. He took off the glasses to read labels. Then, after his shopping trip, he threw the stick in his car and drove off.

Cath said organised criminals have resorted to faking accidents, for example by putting a mattress in front of a car steering wheel and driving into a lamppost or another vehicle, then submitting compensation claims.

"It is very professional and well-organised, with rent-a-witness statements and inflated claims, following staged accidents on roundabouts or rear-end shunts," she added.

"Our job is to expose this criminal activity. We use reconstruction and forensic examination techniques to do so."

She believes a a lot of fraud is due to the compensation culture.

"When someone slips or suffers inconvenience, their immediate reaction is to ask `who can I sue?'

"Ultimately, the public suffers. The cost of insurance has risen astronomically.

"We see the opening of our Manchester operation as the next step towards providing the insurance industry with a robust defence against claims."

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