In Paris, Jean Hubert ran an up-scale stationery and pen business in the exclusive 4th arrondissement. When the business started to falter earlier this year, he decided to arrange for a friend to break in and set the shop on fire. On the appointed night, by 3am he still hadn’t...
Despite the extraordinary progress and modernisation of eastern and northern China, the bicycle is still the standard mode of transport for more than 300 million Chinese – and leading manufacturer Hua Nin sold more than three million units in 2010 alone. Unfortunately, many of these allegedly have a welding fault...
Pop singer Lady Gaga has threatened to sue a specialist ice cream parlour in London for naming its breast milk ice cream "Baby Gaga," according to the shop's owner. Matt O'Connor, founder of The Icecreamists in London's Covent Garden, said he had received a letter from Lady Gaga's lawyers informing...
Three gang members in England have been prosecuted in a “cash for crash” insurance scam worth over US$8.6 million. The gang orchestrated car crashes involving gullible motorists and making fake insurance claims for injuries. All three were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and were handed down jail sentences ranging...
A consumer forum in Punjab, India, has directed Oriental Insurance Company to pay up US$1,000 against the death of an insured cow. According to a TOI report, the complainant Sarain Singh had purchased 13 insured cows through a bank under a state government scheme. However, following the death of one...
GBP65,000 actually. Insurers in the UK have become subject to an increasing number of bizarre claims from aggrieved criminals who believe their ‘human rights’ have been carelessly jeopardized. When Stephen Carlisle broke in to a secondary school earlier this year, with a view to stealing six laptops, he tripped on...
Downtown Sao Paulo has an alarmingly high level of petty street crime and it’s never a good idea to wear expensive watches or jewellery while sitting in the city’s legendary traffic jams. So marketing manager Jaime Alpert was taking no chances: he insured his gold Rolex Yachtmaster for BRL31,205 (US$20,000)....
What’s the most popular car insurance scam worldwide? It’s ‘front-loading’ – the practice whereby, having bought a new vehicle with finance that requires fully comprehensive cover, you then contact the insurer and change the second and subsequent years’ cover to third party. Now, from the insurer’s point of view, this...
