Motor insurance fraud at record levels

03 July 2008

Insurers uncovered £260m of fraudulent claims last year

Last year, insurers uncovered fraudulent motor insurance claims worth the equivalent of £5m a week, according to new industry figures released today.

Figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) showed that last year its members uncovered 24,000 fraudulent motor insurance claims, worth a total value of £260m.

According to the industry body, the number of fraudulent motor claims has increased by 70% over the course of the past three years.

The dishonest claims included one car owner who had claimed £10,000 after saying thieves had stolen various parts from his Rolls Royce. The items were later found in his home by the police because he had removed them himself. For this fraudulent activity, the man received a criminal conviction.

“Insurance fraud is no victimless crime,” said Nick Starling, the ABI’s director of general insurance and health.

“Honest motorists pay through higher insurance premiums – an extra £40 a year on average. This is why insurers are ramping up their crackdown to weed out the cheats.

“Anyone committing insurance fraud is more likely to get caught, risks a criminal record, and will find future insurance and credit harder to obtain and more expensive,” he warned.

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