The value of fraudulent insurance claims uncovered by UK insurers has for the first time topped £1bn a year as the industry’s clampdown on insurance cheats intensifies, according to figures published this week by the Association of British Insurers(ABI).
In 2012;
-Insurers detected 124,292 bogus or exaggerated insurance claims, the equivalent of 2,390 a week. The value of these frauds was £1.1bn or £21m uncovered every week.
-Home insurance frauds were the most common with 51,000 detected worth £95.5m.
-Dishonest motor insurance claims were the most costly, with savings of £614 million made from the 42,700 dishonest claims made under personal and commercial motor policies.
-The value of frauds uncovered nearly doubled between 2007- 2012, with the number of frauds detected up by over a third in the same period.
In addition, the City of London Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department(IFED), the specialist police unit dedicated to tackling insurance fraud across England and Wales has investigated millions of pounds worth of insurance scams, making hundreds of arrests and securing a growing number of convictions.
The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) is currently assisting Police forces across the UK to investigate over 60 criminal gangs, with the total value of scams under investigation tipping the scales at over £75m.
Nick Starling, ABI’s director of General Insurance, comments:
"There will be no let-up in the industry’s zero-tolerance approach to insurance fraud. Honest customers rightly expect nothing less. Never has it been harder to get away with insurance fraud, never have the penalties–such as getting a criminal record and being unable to get future insurance and other financial products–been tougher.
"The impact of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, the development of the Insurance Fraud Register and the work of insurers own fraud investigation teams underline our determination to deter potential cheats and come down hard on anyone who thinks making a fraudulent claim is ‘easy money’.”
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