Insurance firm lodges FIR for fraud, 4-wheelers insured as bikes

LUCKNOW: Insurance firm Bajaj Allianz has lodged an FIR with the Hazratganj police in Lucknow, alleging that owners of 21 commercial four and three-wheelers in the state have got their vehicles insured as two-wheelers in the last one month and paid less premiums.

The company claimed it suffered huge loss amounting to lakhs due to the fraud, which was found during an audit.

The firm suspects it to be handiwork of an all-India level gang that uses an online portal for getting vehicles insured.

The complaint has been filed on behalf of the company branch manager Ravi Shanker Tiwari in Hazratganj.

In his complaint, Tiwari said one Abhishek Pandey was appointed as an agent for Point of Sale at the company's satellite office in Gonda.

"In September 2021, the company came to know that Pandey had issued a two-wheeler liability policy to a commercial four-wheeler owner. This caused a loss to the company of premium meant for a four-wheeler, GST loss to state and Central governments and also to the customer as well," Tiwari said.

The fraudulent practice by Pandey surfaced following an internal inquiry.

"We were shocked to know that Pandey sold 21 such policies to four-wheeler vehicles of different customers during his nearly one-year stint in the company," Tiwari alleged.

Hazratganj SHO Abhishek Mishra said based on a complaint, police registered a case of criminal breach of trust and forgery against Pandey and an investigation was underway.

Bajaj Allianz Head Vikas Dave said that the fraud is pan-India, in which 1.36 lakh four/three wheelers have been registered as two wheelers causing a loss of around Rs 110 crore to the company and Rs 20 crore to the government as GST.

Dave further said as per records, 26,000 commercial four wheelers have been registered as two wheelers in Uttar Pradesh within a year (October 2021-October 2022), causing loss of around Rs 20 crore.