11:47am UK, Wednesday December 29, 2010
Insurance companies are uncovering an average of 335 fraudulent claims every day, says a report.
According to the Association of British Insurers, the claims, which are being detected with increasingly sophisticated techniques, are costing £2.3m every day.
The most common type of insurance fraud is home insurance, says the report, with 170 bogus claims made each day.
Fraudulent home insurance claims usually involve people claiming for alleged accidental damage to carpets or furniture - such as spilled red wine or coffee - only for insurers to find the damage was done deliberately.
The second most common type of insurance fraud was motor insurance, with 108 fraudulent claims made each day, costing approximately £1.1m.
Nick Starling, of the Association of British InsurersInsurance cheats do not prosper – they can expect to get caught, face problems getting future insurance and risk getting a criminal record.
Speaking to Sky News, Malcolm Tarling, of the Association of British Insurers, said: "We've had people who have travelled overseas and claimed for stolen cameras and items they’ve never had."
He said some people also "spill paint and coffee on carpets and then claimed for the complete refurbishment of the home".
One claimant crashed his car during a race at the Nuerburgring race track in Germany, but shipped it back to the UK to claim it was damaged at the side of the road in Britain.
Another policy holder alleged he had sustained a head injury after tripping over a loose paving stone, only for it to emerge he had been hit by a baseball bat during a fight.
Carpets are being deliberately damaged for bogus insurance claims
Nick Starling, also of the Association of British Insurers, said: "Insurance cheats do not prosper – they can expect to get caught, face problems getting future insurance and risk getting a criminal record."
He added: "The majority of customers are honest and rightly object to subsidising the cheats. Insurance fraud adds and 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."
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