Supreme Court orders all states to set up SITs for fake motor insurance claims

The Supreme Court has directed every state to form a dedicated Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe suspected fraudulent motor accident insurance claims. The August 17 order by a bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prasanna B. Varale came after a routine case involving a disputed vehicle revealed what the court called a fraud of enormous proportion, where the same vehicle was shown as involved in multiple accidents. Insurance companies must forward rejected claims to the SIT and conduct internal probes for officer collusion.

Over 56 percent of India's 30.48 crore vehicles lack valid insurance, the court noted. The bench also heard a suggestion for a common portal integrated with VAHAN and SARATHI to let insurers cross-check repeated claims. The court asked states to disclose their investigation procedures and provide adequate manpower to the SITs.