DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary in Birmingham has appointed Dipak Lad as head of insurance claims fraud.

He joins from Silverbeck Rymer in Manchester where he managed the fraud team and held the position of fraud technical manager.

He is highly regarded within the motor fraud defence community and was one of the UK's first experts to develop a specialism in this area.

Dipak Lad has assisted in the development of the defence of low speed impact claims, with various insurers, in order to identify and combat this growing area of exaggerated claims. He has also worked on initiatives with other legal service providers in the battle to combat organised fraud rings.

At DLA Piper, Mr Lad will lead the insurance claims fraud unit and further develop the team's experience in dealing with complex fraudulent claims including motor, household and employers' and public liability.

The organisation's insurance fraud unit combines its specialist experience and knowledge in this area with the latest technology, investigative techniques and legal machinery.

Alan Jacobs, DLA Piper insurance partner and location head in Birmingham, said: "Fraud is one of our key areas of expertise and one that we are constantly investing in.

"Dipak is a market recognised figure and complements a strong technical team. As well as being one of the most experienced practitioners in the field, he brings a sound and very commercial approach to handling these claims."

Mr Lad said: "DLA Piper has one of the largest insurance practices in Europe. With its high quality team and internal resources, plus the external resources on offer, I'm excited at the prospect of offering insurers a far more advanced, focussed, commercial and practical approach to combating fraudsters than is traditionally available."