Fraud rises 9% in 2011 compared to 2010 but false insurance claims fall
The UK’s economic problems have contributed to record levels of fraud, according to the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service.
CIFAS, a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to fraud prevention, recored over 236,500 cases of frauds during 2011 – the highest number ever recorded. That was a 9% rise on 2010.
ID fraud and facility takeover fraud, where a trickster takes over a person’s mobile phone, bank account and credit card, were two types of fraud on the rise.
But the good news for insurers, who took a tough approach to fraud last year, is that the number of false insurance claims fell 26.3% in 2011 compared to 2010. Cases fell to 396 from 537.
Research by Insurance Times has shown that 70% of industry respondents believe insurance fraud increased last year.
For example, Allianz Insurance recorded a rise in household fraud last year and predicts it will get worse.
“Last year we detected an increase in household insurance fraud, now at 24%,” said fraud manager Mihir Pandya.
“Within an environment of rising costs and unemployment, this is a trend that we only feel will get worse before it gets better.”
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