ABI: Fraudulent insurance claims now top £4 million a day.

ABI: Fraudulent insurance claims now top £4 million a day.

ABI: Fraudulent insurance claims now top £4 million a day.

ABI: Fraudulent insurance claims now top £4 million a day.

Fraudulent insurance claims are now costing insurers and honest customers over £4 million every day, according to figures released today by the ABI (Association of British Insurers). Initial findings from ABI research estimate the annual cost of insurance fraud to be £1.6 billion.

In the survey, one-in-ten adults admitted to having cheated on their insurance. These cheats push up the cost of insurance, adding nearly £40 to the average premium paid each year by honest policyholders.

Key findings of the survey of nearly 7,000 adults commissioned by the ABI and carried out by YouGov reveal that:

– One in ten adults – 5million people – admit to having made a fraudulent claim on a general insurance policy, such as home or motor insurance.
– Opportunistic fraud carried out by individual customers alone costs over £800 million a year.
– The home is the richest source for insurance cheats: around half the cost dishonest claims occur under home contents and buildings insurance.

Nick Starling, the ABI’s Director of General Insurance and Health, said:
“Honest customers should not have pay for the cheats. Insurers are committed to reducing the fraud problem. We are devoting greater resources to weeding out the cheats, and working together to detect and combat fraud. The Insurance Fraud Bureau is already having a significant impact on tackling organised insurance fraud.

“These figures highlight that greater deterrents, such as criminal prosecutions, are needed to discourage fraud. This is why we are calling for police forces to be given more resources so that fraud can be treated with the seriousness it deserves”.