Caught on camera

Whether it’s identifying fraud or settling a row over fault, with dashcam footage, the truth will out

By Andy Swales

When a Porsche driver in southeast England submitted a car crash claim totalling more than £74,000, he must have thought the payout was a foregone conclusion.

He said he was sitting parked at the side of a road when his £81,000 car was clipped by a passing truck.

His claim against the truck’s insurer Axa included £5000 for personal injury, £2400 for medical treatment and more than £3300 for loss of earnings.

But the claimant, Terell Brooks from Essex, had not reckoned on the presence of a dashboard camera in the allegedly at-fault truck: footage of the August 2022 crash showed he was not in the Porsche 911 when it was hit – he was standing several metres away, in bushes beside the road.

“We still don’t know what he was doing there – but we do know he wasn’t in the car,” says Damian Rourke, a partner at Axa’s legal representative Clyde & Co.

“His story fell apart the moment the truth came to light. In every sense, the claim was caught short.”

When the footage emerged, the claim was withdrawn and the Porsche owner formally admitted it was dishonest. He agreed to pay Axa’s £4000 legal costs.

“This case highlights how technology is helping us to fight claims fraud,” Axa claims operations manager Deborah Talbot says.

“The dashcam footage provided clear evidence … avoiding a potentially costly and lengthy court hearing.”

The use of dashcams in vehicles is “certainly becoming more common”, according to Leigh Davidson, principal solicitor at NSW personal injury law firm Advantage Legal.

And, as well as exposing fraud, the devices can be a deciding factor when it comes to answering the all-important question of fault.

“Historically, [dashcams] were an aftermarket modification to vehicles, much like GPS devices in the early 2000s, and they were quite expensive, which limited uptake,” Mr Davidson tells Insurance News.

“However … dashcams have become cheaper, and video recording quality has improved, resulting in more people buying them for their vehicles.

“Modern vehicles, particularly those with autonomous vehicle technology like Teslas, are now including dashcams in their vehicles.

“As these vehicles become more mainstream, we’d expect dashcam footage to play an increasing role in insurance and personal injury claims.”

And it is not just motorists using cameras. Advantage is the exclusive compensation partner of state advocacy group Bicycle NSW and is “regularly called upon” to help cyclists make compulsory third party claims.

“Interestingly, we have seen an increasing number of people purchasing cameras for their bicycles,” Mr Davidson says.

“This includes helmet, body and bike-mounted cameras such as GoPros and other bike-specific devices. Given the vulnerability of cyclists to serious injury when involved in a car accident, [some] people appear to be purchasing cameras for their own safety, to prove they were not at fault.”

Data on the present rate of camera use appears scarce, but a 2021 report by dashcam maker Nextbase – drawing on surveys of more than 2000 Australians – found a quarter had one installed in their main vehicle, and almost half believed they should be mandatory.

This followed a 2019 study by Allianz that found 20% of Australian drivers filmed their car trips, and the number using footage in claims had soared 92% in the preceding two years.

There are clear benefits for motor insurance or injury scheme claimants, drivers unfairly accused of being at fault, and underwriters.

A Suncorp spokesperson says the devices are increasingly popular among drivers and “in some cases dashcam footage is more valuable than witness statements, especially if it is clear and captures the direct cause of an accident”.

IAG says it has seen “an increase in customers providing dashcam footage when submitting a claim following an accident” in the past few years, and it encourages people to do so.

Mr Davidson says car crashes often result in two-sided arguments, but video footage can help apportion blame.

“Particularly where there are no witnesses or if the witness is somehow involved in the crash themselves, making their version of events unreliable.

“Depending on the severity of an accident, people may also be knocked unconscious and have no memory of what has occurred.

“In such circumstances, a dashcam can shed light on what has occurred and prevent unnecessary arguments about who was at fault.”

Mr Davidson says Advantage Legal has handled injury cases where dashcam footage was the “make or break” difference.

One involved a cyclist who was knocked unconscious in a car accident.

“When he regained consciousness in hospital, he had no memory of what occurred. The person driving the car indicated they had a green light to turn at an intersection and alleged our client had cycled through a red light.

“We later discovered that this version of events was a complete fabrication.

“The CTP insurer initially denied liability for the damages claim based on its insured driver’s version of events.

“However, once the dashcam footage was provided, the CTP insurer reversed its position and accepted the claim, leading to substantial claim settlement.”

Insurers are happy to collect camera footage as part of the claims process, and in the UK some will even cut up to 15% off premiums for dashcam users.

But a report in May by financial services comparison group Canstar found using a camera in Australia “is generally not a factor that is considered by insurers” when calculating premiums.

“Canstar Research obtained quotes from a range of car insurance providers and found that only one provider asked whether a dashcam was present in the vehicle during the quoting process,” it says.

“This suggests that most Australian insurers don’t currently offer premium reductions or discounts for the installation or use of dashcams.

“This may be due to dashcams not necessarily providing any reduction in the risk of something unexpected happening that could lead to a claim.”

Suncorp notes that cameras “can help save drivers who didn’t cause the accident from having to pay an excess”, but its spokesperson adds: “Since we don’t consider that dashcams reduce the risk of an incident occurring, they aren’t currently a factor in determining a customer’s policy premium”. IAG says it takes the same position.

The 2021 Nextbase study found 80% of Australian drivers would install a dashcam in exchange for a discount on car cover.

And Mr Davidson says premium discounts for camera users would “be worth exploring, as it may reduce the number of liability disputes associated with property damage and CTP claims for personal injury. This may be one way of incentivising [dashcam] uptake.”