New figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) have revealed that insurers uncovered more than 130,000 fraudulent claims in 2015, equivalent to 2,500 a week, and up 6% on the previous year.
However, the trade body noted that the value of these frauds fell by 3% in the 12 month period to £1.3bn.
It highlighted that there was a significant rise in dishonest liability insurance claims detected, such as ‘slip and trip’ claims.
These came in at 26,900, an increase of 36%, and their £391m was up 14% on 2014.
Fraudsters
According to the ABI the detection reflects the industry’s focus on this area.
It noted that such scams were increasingly targeted by fraudsters partly as a result of the government’s clampdown on whiplash and the reduction in legal costs for road traffic accident claims.
Overall, dishonest motor claims remained the most common frauds and had the highest value.
Some 70,000 were detected, down slightly at 2% on 2014, with a value of £800m down 10%.
Likewise, the value of property frauds uncovered continued to fall – down 2% to £107m however the number of detected frauds rose by 7% to 27,500.
Cheats
James Dalton, the ABI’s director, general insurance policy, said: “Insurance cheats do not lack nerve or ingenuity, which is why there will be no let-up in the industry’s commitment to protect honest customers.
“The chances of getting caught have never been greater, and the consequences, such as a prison sentence and difficulty in getting future insurance and other financial products, have never been more severe and long-lasting.”
He concluded: “Reducing fraud is part of a bigger picture of reducing unnecessary costs, so that honest customers benefit from the most competitive insurance deals. This is why it is important to ensure that the government implements further proposals aimed at tackling rising personal injury claims, and that there are no further increases to the rate of Insurance Premium Tax.”
