Yet one in five people would still be tempted to cheat on their insurance, despite the likelihood of being caught, facing trouble in obtaining financial products in the future, and getting a criminal record.
ABI figures show that in 2008:
107,000 fraudulent insurance claims were exposed, a rise of 17 per cent on 2007.
The value of these claims, at £730 million, rose by 30 per cent on the previous year.
Dishonest claims on home insurance were the most common, with 55,000 false or exaggerated claims detected. By value, fraudulent motor insurance claims were the highest, with £360 million saved.
4 per cent of all claims by value (excluding life insurance) were fraudulent, compared to 3 per cent in 2007.
In a separate survey of 3,000 adults carried out for the ABI by YouGov, one in five people admitted that they would not rule out making a fraudulent claim in the future.
Nick Starling, the ABI’s Director of General Insurance and Health, said:
“Fraud thrives in a recession, so insurers are intensifying their crackdown on insurance cheats. Fraud adds an extra £40 a year to the average premium, which is why the harder we make it for the cheats, the more competitive premiums will be for honest customers. Cheating on your insurance really does not pay – you will get caught, future insurance will be more expensive and, along with credit, harder to obtain. The only thing you are likely to gain is a criminal record.”
Insurance cheats caught out in this crackdown include:
A policyholder who claimed that his car had been stolen following a mugging. Investigations revealed that he had actually sold the car to a friend.
A car was reported stolen and recovered burnt out. However it transpired that the vehicle had been set alight before the policyholder reported that it stolen. The policyholder received a criminal conviction.
A woman claimed for a lost engagement ring, and was told that her policy did not cover her outside of the home. So she extended the cover, and the next day claimed for the loss of the same ring.
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