Insurers are fighting back in the war against fraud. With the cost of insurance fraud now estimated to be £5.2 million every day, according to a report published today (16 July) by the ABI, insurers are detecting more of the fraud being committed.
The cost of undetected fraudulent general insurance claims is now £1.9 billion a year, up 24% from £1.6 billion two years ago.
Insurers are detecting more of the fraud being committed. Last year, frauds worth £730 million were detected and prevented - a 30% increase on 2007.
Insurance fraud now adds, on average, an extra £44 a year to every household's general insurance costs.
More people are being caught lying or withholding relevant information in attempts to get cheaper insurance.
16% would not rule out making an exaggerated insurance claim.
Just over four in 10 (44%) think it acceptable or borderline behaviour to increase the value of an item when claiming. Three in 10 feel the same way about overstating the extent of any damage being claimed for.
Those in the North East and the West Midlands appear the most tolerant towards insurance fraud. One in four in the North East would not rule out making a fraudulent claim. And more people in the North East and the West Midlands see inflating the value of an item, or adding an item to a claim, as acceptable or borderline behaviour than elsewhere in the UK.