ABI: Honesty is the only policy as insurers uncover more frauds

ABI: Honesty is the only policy as insurers uncover more frauds

ABI: Honesty is the only policy as insurers uncover more frauds

Insurance companies are uncovering and preventing fraudulent insurance claims worth over £1 million every day according to latest research from the ABI (Association of British Insurers). The ABI’s latest research into general insurance fraud reveals that:

  • Insurers are uncovering and preventing fraudulent claims worth £480 million a year, or £1.3 million every day. This is three times the amount detected in 2003.
  • One in 11 claims – around one million – are in some way fraudulent. Of these 85% involved exaggerating the value of a genuine loss.
  • Nearly a half of all detected fraud was on household insurance. Typical scams exposed include deliberately damaging carpets then claiming the damage was caused accidentally.

Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance and Health at the ABI, said:

“Fraudulent insurance claims cost £1.6 billion, and add £40 a year to the premiums paid by honest customers. But the industry is fighting back. Insurance cheats are more likely to be caught than ever before. And cheats will pay a high price as future insurance and credit will be more expensive and harder to obtain.”

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Notes for Editors

1. Enquiries to:
Alan Leaman 020 7216 7440 (Mobile: 07957 482 330)
Malcolm Tarling 020 7216 7410 (Mobile: 07776 147 667)
Jonathan French 020 7216 7392 (Mobile: 07958 330 480)
Erfan Hussain 020 7216 7411 (Mobile: 07712 841 184)
Kelly Ostler 020 7216 7415 (Mobile: 07968 364 302)

2. To download a copy of: ABI Research Paper 4 – General Insurance Claims
www.abi.org.uk/fraudreport

3. Some of the more unusual fraudulent claims uncovered by insurers include:

  • A man claimed for ‘recovery expenses’ following a heart attack
    he suffered while on holiday in West Africa, which was for the services of a local brothel!
  • A woman reported her husband for exaggerating his injuries following a car
    accident hours after he left her having collected a £385,000 compensation settlement.
  • A keen amateur footballer claimed to be unable to work following a back
    Injury. His fraud was exposed when a local newspaper carried his
    picture after he was named as his local football club player of the year.
  • A cash-strapped policyholder pushed his car over a cliff then claimed it had
    been stolen so he could pay his debts.

4. The ABI is the trade association for Britain’s insurance industry. Its nearly 400 member companies provide over 94% of the insurance business in the UK. It represents insurance companies to the Government, and to the regulatory and other agencies, and is an influential voice on public policy and financial services issues. ABI member companies hold up to a sixth of all investments traded on the London Stock Exchange, on behalf of millions of pensioners and savers.

5. An ISDN line is available for broadcasts.

Copies of all ABI news releases, together with other information from the Association, can be seen on our website http://www.abi.org.uk