Fraudulent insurance claims amount to €200m a year in Ireland, an astonishing figure. That is according to the insuranceconfidential.ie website. I presume this is only the tab for investigating and defending fraudsters? The website cites example cases which were proven to be scams. It actually makes for entertaining reading, the lengths some people go to in order to make a few bob on the back of the rest of us paying insurance.

The planning and imagination in some of the cases highlighted deserve Oscars. The one about the shopkeeper watching the guy spraying fluid on the floor to slip on is a peach.

Anyway, fraudulent claims are costing insurance companies €200m annually to send staff out to investigate idiots who think they are ahead of the rest of us. But can you imagine what the real figure is when you take into account the fraudulent claims that convince the judge they are legitimate, let alone the countless amounts that are settled on the steps of the court?

Well the net result is higher premiums for everybody else. I have read some incredulous cases recently and you have to marvel at the neck of some people. Uncle Albert’s escapade falling into pub cellars in Only Fools and Horses isn’t so farfetched it seems. There was the recently publicised case about a teacher taking McDonald’s to court regarding soggy chips. A classic. Google it for a laugh.

So here is a thought. What if we introduced a voluntary personal injury policy system? Would it make us more honest? In other words, if you genuinely suffer an injury or injustice on a restaurant, pub, shop premises or in a public place, it is up to you to decide if it is worth claiming from your own policy?

Of course if you slip on a wet floor in a pub or you find mouse droppings in your takeaway you can legitimately pursue a rightful compensation, but only after you successfully prove negligence by claiming through the personal policy first. It will lead to a higher premium next year if proved fraudulent, hence the dilemma for anyone who chances a try on. It could be a solution to the rather unseemly stand-off between farmers and walkers too in terms of trust and burden of proof. And it would encourage better personal responsibility. Needless to say, it would be hard to make mandatory even at a cost of about a euro a week for every citizen of working age. But if we had such a voluntary personal injury policy system, would it not act as a mitigating factor in claim cases, while making fraudsters think twice before chancing their arm orchestrating a dramatic injury at the expense of a decent vendor? Just at thought. CL

World hunger

One billion people go to bed every night hungry. There are many geopolitical reasons for this. Farmers produce enough to feed the growing world population, yet one third is wasted. Malnutrition is not only a developing world crisis, it is demonstrably a first world crisis too.

Maybe it is because in the western world we have no idea what we are eating. Part of that is because we are moving generationally further away from the land and an understanding of where food comes from and how farming is pivotal to our diet.

My daughter, Deirbhile, is a wonderful and adventurous cook at the age of 16. Apart from being brought up appreciating healthy and quality food, thanks mainly to her mammy and our closeness to farming, she studies home economics. It really is a no-brainer. Farming, food and diet should be given priority as a subject on the curriculum. Is there good reason why not?