The fight against insurance fraud remains a central focus for the industry, as new figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that fraudulent claims totalling £1.1 billion were detected in 2023 – a 4% increase compared to the previous year.
Volume-wise, insurers uncovered 84,400 fraudulent claims last year, 11,800 more compared to 2022, with the average value at £13,000. According to the ABI, exaggerated loss claims – where claimants inflate the value of a claim – were the most common, with 25,700 cases worth £407 million detected.
Meanwhile fraudulent claims remain to be most prevalent in the motor insurance space, where 45,800 such claims worth £501 million were identified in 2023, rising 8% from 2022 and accounting for 54% of the total.
Property insurance fraud also saw a 16% uptick in detected fraudulent claims valued at £143 million. Additionally, insurers thwarted approximately 583,000 fraudulent insurance applications, a 17% increase from the prior year.
Mark Allen (pictured), assistant director and head of fraud and financial crime at the ABI, stated: “Insurance is there to protect people and businesses should the worst happen. It’s encouraging to see that the industry’s efforts to detect and prevent people from abusing this are working, but there can be no let-up in pursuing insurance fraudsters.”
He emphasised that fraudulent claims drive up insurance costs for everyone, reiterating the industry’s commitment to preventing these crimes.
Insurance Fraud Bureau director Ursula Jallow also commented: “With a rise in detected fraudulent insurance applications and claims, it’s never been more important to raise awareness about the impacts of insurance fraud.”
Meanwhile Detective Chief Inspector Tom Hill, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, added: “The figures… show that around 230 fraudulent insurance claims are detected on average each day, showing that IFED and the insurance industry will root out fraudsters and bring them to justice.”
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