Home insurance is now the number one target for insurance fraudsters according to the hundreds of fraudulent insurance claims exposed every day says the ABI. The ABI’s latest industry data on fraudulent insurance claims1. shows that:

• Every day insurers detect 335 fraudulent insurance claims worth £2.3 million.
• Dishonest home insurance claims are the most common: 170 cheating householders are caught out each day. Typically these involve alleged accidental damage to carpets and furniture due to spilled drink, which were in fact caused deliberately.
• Fraudulent motor claims are the most costly: 108 bogus motor insurance claims worth £1.12 million are exposed each day.

The daily roll call of insurance cheats exposed include:

• A policyholder claimed on his household policy for the theft of DVDs that he said had been bought locally, despite the fact that they had yet to be released in the UK.
• A policyholder who took his car to participate in a race day at the Nurburgring race track in Germany. He crashed the vehicle causing extensive damage, which he then shipped back to the UK and left alongside a road where it was claimed the damage had taken place.
• A man claimed for head injuries allegedly as a result of falling over a loose paving stone, which were in fact sustained after being hit by a baseball bat during a fight.


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

“Insurance cheats do not prosper – they can expect to get caught, face problems getting future insurance and risk getting a criminal record. The majority of customers are honest and rightly object to subsidising the cheats. Insurance fraud adds an extra £44 to the average UK household’s annual insurance bill. This is why 2011 will see insurers intensify their war against the cheats, to protect their honest customers.”

In the five years since the ABI has been collecting data on insurance fraud, many bizarre bogus claims have come to light including:

• A woman reported her husband for exaggerating injuries received in a car accident after he walked out on her having collected £385,000 compensation. For three years he had pretended to be crippled.
• A man, who claimed to be unable to walk following an accident, was photographed in his local newspaper collecting an award for the leading goal scorer in his local football team.
• A car owner claimed his car had been stolen. However, he had in fact pushed it over a cliff and planned to use the insurance payout to meet his outstanding HP repayments on the vehicle.

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Notes

Notes for Editors

1. Enquiries to:
Liz Forster 020 7216 7444 (Mobile: 07717 578 586)
Malcolm Tarling 020 7216 7410 (Mobile: 07776 147 667)
Erfan Hussain 020 7216 7411 (Mobile: 07712 841 184)
Kelly Ostler-Coyle 020 7216 7415 (Mobile: 07968 364 302)

2. 1. ABI annual survey of the number and value of detected fraudulent insurance claims 2009 (latest year).
3. The ABI is the voice of the UK’s insurance, investment and long-term savings industry. It has over 300 members, which together account for around 90% of premiums in the UK domestic market.
The ABI’s role is to:
- Be the voice of the UK insurance industry, leading debate and speaking up for insurers.
- Represent the UK insurance industry to government, regulators and policy makers in the UK, EU and internationally, driving effective public policy and regulation.
- Advocate high standards of customer service within the industry and provide useful information to the public about insurance.
- Promote the benefits of insurance to the government, regulators, policy makers and the public.

The UK insurance industry is the third largest in the world and the largest in Europe. It is a vital part of the UK economy, managing investments amounting to 24% of the UK’s net worth and contributing the fourth highest corporation tax of any sector. Employing over 275,000 people in the UK alone, the insurance industry is also one of this country’s major exporters, with a fifth of its net premium income coming from overseas business.
Insurance and businesses protect themselves against the everyday risks they face, enabling people to own their own homes, travel overseas, provide for a financially secure future and run businesses. Insurance underpins a healthy and prosperous society, enabling businesses and individuals to thrive, safe in the knowledge that problems can be handled and risks carefully managed. Every day, our members pay out £155 million in benefits to pensioners and long-term savers as well as £58 million in general insurance claims.

4. An ISDN line is available for broadcasts.

5. More news and information from the ABI is available on our web site, www.abi.org.uk.