Fraudulent insurance claims increasing

Cash for crash’ and organised fraud are causing the number of spurious insurance claims to increase, according to new figures from Aviva. Around 14,000 fraudulent insurance claims worth £95million were made in 2014, this is the equivalent of 39 false claims being registered every day.

It is estimated that one in nine whiplash claims could be false, and motor insurance application fraud is also on the up, with more than 6,300 cases last year alone.

This includes putting incorrect information on a policy, such as a different address, or misrepresenting claims history or convictions.

One group of fraudsters in Norwich set up hundreds of fake policies and were responsible for 157 claims with an estimated value of £3million. They were all declined.

Tom Gardiner, head of fraud at Aviva, says: ‘Fraudulent motor claims put innocent motorists at risk of harm and push up the cost of premiums for everyone.’

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