The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) and Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) are planning a joint crackdown on criminal gangs and solicitors involved in fraudulent insurance scams, the Gazette can reveal.

The IFB and APIL have held talks with a view to thrashing out an information-sharing agreement, which will help track solicitors connected with insurance fraud – be they complicit or unwittingly aware.

IFB chairman John Beadle said the talks were taking place so that the IFB and APIL could both ‘understand the issues and feel the natural benefit of ­working together’. He added that it was still ‘very early days’.

‘Solicitors are often involved with fraudulent networks but range from those who are quite complicit in the scam to those who don’t realise they are being duped and lied to.’

The IFB was launched in July 2006 to investigate fraudulent claims, including ‘cash for crash’ scams. Beadle said the IFB has 30 ongoing operations and had made more than 200 arrests in co-operation with the police.

Sue Jones, head of the IFB, told the Gazette in May that the IFB would be stepping up action against law firms involved with fraudulent claims (see [2008] Gazette, 1 May, 1).

APIL chief executive Denise Kitchener said: ‘We are committed to fighting fraud, but to do this it is crucial to have a ­thorough understanding of the issues involved. While it is still very early days, we hope our meeting with the IFB will provide a useful insight into concerns relating to personal injury.’

Law Society President Paul Marsh said: ‘The Law Society favours a national approach to the fraud issue which is why we are working so closely with the National Fraud Strategic Authority. Let’s have all the relevant groups, including the IFB and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, working in one forum to create a system which works without imposing unreasonable costs on business.’