Claire Laver

Claire has over 20 years’ experience advising clients in the defence of fraudulent insurance claims across a range of sectors, including construction, transport and logistics, leisure and retail, health and social care, public sector, manufacturing and agricultural.

Her key clients include General Insurers, London Market Insurers, Mono-line Insurers, Global Corporates and SMEs.

Claire leads a team of 16 casualty fraud specialists, providing pre-litigated and litigated advice on strategy and potentially fraudulent claims ranging from Fast-Track to high value Multi-Track claims.

She delivers proactive client training on a wide range of topics, crisis management, alerts, trend analysis and forecasting to assist with fraud identification, clinics, mentoring and shadowing. She provides strategic advice to clients developing and improving their casualty fraud strategies and has been the first to define organised fraud in casualty claims. Sanctions are a focus for the product which has achieved injunctions, exemplary damages custodial sentences for contempt of court, community service orders, fines and recovery of costs where fundamental dishonesty is found.

Relevant experience includes advising:

• AXA on securing an injunction against a fake law firm to prevent those running it from litigating any claims against thus preventing a further 30 claims. The Court of Appeal decision in AXA Insurance UK Ltd v Financial Claims Solution Limited & Oths [2018] EWCA Civ 1330 was also legal landscape changing because it clarified the 50 year old law around when exemplary damages should be awarded. Lord Justice Flaux said that the “case was a paradigm one for the award of exemplary damages and his ruling should reflect the need to deter and punish the outrageous conduct and abusive behaviour”. The result saved AXA from having to pay in excess of £150,000 in damages and costs. The fraudsters were ordered to pay £60,000 in punitive damages to AXA and pay their costs.
• DLG on giving evidence in the Crown Court when they were called as witnesses for the prosecution in the case of R v Wilmot Day. The claimant, a police officer, forged invoices to support his claim for losses associated with his genuine accident. The civil litigation was stayed pending conclusion of the criminal proceedings. Claire and her clients gave evidence in a two week long trial which secured the conviction of the claimant who was sentences to 12 months imprisonment. The civil action was struck out following the criminal conviction.
• Allianz in conjunction with a small team of specialist casualty fraud lawyers about the strategy adopted in a large scale organised fraud against their insured. 50 linked claims all following a similar MO were identified by the insurer. Our strategic involvement has ensured that all litigation has been successfully defeated and ensured that most of the other claims have been successfully repudiated saving the insurer around £300,000.

In 2019 DAC Beachcroft (DACB) was highly commended at the Insurance Fraud Awards for the “Combatting Fraud - Collaboration of the Year” along with AXA Insurance, following the result in Claire’s case AXA v Financial Claims Solutions Limited & Others [2018].