Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • June 2017
06

Insurers prevent £25m of fraudulent claims every week

Open-access content Friday 7th July 2017 — updated 5.50pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

There were 125,000 dishonest insurance claims detected in the UK last year, with a total value of £1.3bn – the equivalent of £25m every week, according to analysis by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

2

This signifies a 5% fall on the amount identified in 2015, and a 3% reduction in value, with the industry increasingly clamping down on organised fraud-like 'crash for cash' staged motor insurance claims.

The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) and Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department carries out this work, successfully exposing criminal gangs often linked to more serious crimes like money laundering and human trafficking.

"Fraud is harmful in a number of ways, including the real and present physical risk posed day in and day out to road users, alongside the financial impact on individuals and business alike," IFB director, Ben Fletcher, said.

"These reductions reflect the general trend that we have seen in organised motor scams and are a welcome reflection of the industry's efforts to tackle the problem year on year."

The level of organised fraud fell by around 30% last year, with 15,000 individual cases detected, while the number of motor frauds identified decreased 4% to 69,000.

There was also a slight reduction in cases of property insurance fraud found, dropping by 4% from 2015 to 26,000, however there was a rise in the amount of opportunistic motor insurance frauds detected.

These fraudsters are thought to generally be law-abiding citizens, but are often encouraged by disreputable claims management companies, with the increase thought to reflect a resurgence in whiplash-style claims.

This comes after the government announced a new Civil Liability Bill in the Queens Speech last month, which will ban offers to settle personal injury claims without the support of medical evidence.

"Opportunistic fraud has shown a small rise as people continue to be pestered by disreputable claims management firms that are helping fuel the compensation culture," ABI director of general insurance policy, James Dalton said.

"This makes it imperative that the government tightens regulation of claims management companies, and presses ahead with its further reforms on whiplash."


Sign up to our free newsletter here and receive a weekly roundup of news concerning the actuarial profession

This article appeared in our June 2017 issue of The Actuary.
Click here to view this issue
Filed in:
06

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Senior Underwriting Risk Manager

London (Central)
£85K-£95K + Benefits
Reference
124386

Reserving Manager (Contract)

London (Central)
£1200 - £1400 per day
Reference
124385

Life Actuary - Contract - IFRS 17 Financial Impact

England, London / England, Bristol / North Yorkshire, England
£900 - £1150 per day
Reference
124384
See all jobs »
 
 

Today's top reads

 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2022 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ