How is it possible for a third party to start a fraudulent accident claim against me?

How is it possible for details of my insurance company to be identified by third parties? My insurance company contacted me in June to tell me that a claim had been made against my insurance for an incident, allegedly involving my vehicle, that occurred on the A23 at Streatham on 19 May. The person I spoke to gave no further useful information. Neither I nor my car were in South London on that date (nor any other). Since then, and despite writing on several occasions, I have had no information as to the outcome of this claim. I was told that it could be settled on a 50/50 basis. I suspect that the claim is based on mistaken identity at best or possibly some form of scam and am naturally concerned that this will affect my no claims rating if the claim is not dismissed out of hand. What recourse would I have if this proved to be the case?

Asked on 30 November 2013 by DW, Weston Turville, Bucks

Answered by Honest John
Someone at your ‘insurer’ (which might be a broker) sold the information. Or someone at the third party's insurer got the details from the Motor Insurer's Bureau and sold them. The Data Protection Act that was supposed to protect us all against this sort of thing seems to have gone out of the window. If a claim is fraudulently made against you then you can get a court order compelling the insurers to reveal the identity of that person and can request the CPS to prosecute them for criminal fraud and can bring your own action against them in the Small Claims Track of the County Court. In the meantime I would make sure your insurer knows this is your intention and starts taking you seriously.
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