Horwich Farrelly shortlisted for unprecedented 7 awards at Insurance POST Fraud Awards

Horwich Farrelly are celebrating after being shortlisted an unprecedented seven times in the Insurance POST’s prestigious Fraud Awards

With 13 dedicated categories, the awards, now in their twelfth year, showcase individuals and teams from across the insurance industry who have made a significant contribution to the detection or prevention of general insurance fraud.

Although nominated in previous years, Horwich Farrelly surpassed all expectations by being shortlisted three times in a single category: that of Fraud Investigation of the Year. The hat-trick of nominations in this category were for:

• Their long-running fight to bring Asons Solicitors to justice, which saw former boss, Kamran Akram, disqualified as a director earlier this year and ordered to pay esure’s costs of £250,000.
• The striking off of Dr Asef Zafar from the General Medical Council and the Professional Standards Authority for Health & Social Care, after their investigations with LV= found he was systematically falsifying ‘expert witness’ statements.
• A joint investigation with Zurich involving a phantom passenger, which led to Michael Falkingham from Cardiff being found guilty of being in Contempt of Court, and sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Speaking on the nominations in this category in particular, and the role played by the  specialist team who spearheaded them in another, Head of Fraud at Horwich Farrelly, Jared Mallinson, said: “Always a difficult category to be shortlisted in, our three nominations here are testament to our market-leading approach to identifying often highly complex fraudulent activity, and adapting new strategies to ensure our insurer clients are able to stay one step ahead of those engaging in spurious or outright illegal activities.

“It’s also especially satisfying to see that our Professional Enablers’ Team – headed by Alex Wilkinson, and who were pivotal in investigating and pursuing these individuals and organisations – are also shortlisted in the Independent Fraud Investigation Team of the Year.”

The firm were also nominated in a further three categories:

• Unsung Insurance Fraud Fighter of the Year: Senior Associate, Jeanette Hines, for her work overseeing the innovative Horwich Farrelly Fraud Academy.
• Young Fraud Investigator of the Year: Litigation Executive, Alexander Korotchenko. This is the third year in a row that Horwich Farrelly has had a finalist in this category – one usually dominated by insurers rather than law firms.
• Combating Fraud – Technology Innovation of the Year: For their automated vehicle data investigation solution, Car Wash, which saved their clients over £6.5m in 2019 alone.

Horwich Farrelly Managing Partner, Ronan McCann, said: “These are incredible achievements for everyone involved. The seven nominations reflect the determination we have across the firm, at all levels, to fight fraud in the insurance industry.

“I am especially pleased to see the hard work Jeanette and Alexander have done this year being given the recognition they deserve, whilst Car Wash, a truly sector-defining initiative from our Intelligence Team headed by Rick Preston, continues to surprise even us with its astonishing results month after month.”

The winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony on 1 October 2020. Horwich Farrelly’s counter-fraud department is one of the largest specialist units in the UK, helping insurers identify and defend fraudulent claims.