New research shows fraudulent insurance claims are a growing issue for local authorities and...

Local authorities are facing an increase in fraudulent insurance claims according to new research released today by Zurich Municipal.

The research into insurance fraud against local authorities reveals fraudulent claims are already an issue for the majority (63%). A quarter believe more than 20% of their claims to be fraudulent and 38% of local authorities expect the problem to grow.

Responses from 118 local authorities reveal that a quarter say fraudulent claims are having a significant impact on resources, which diverts funding away from vital front-line services.

However, a public poll on insurance fraud issues found that a significant proportion of the general public do not see a direct link between fraudulent claims and the quality of their local services. When asked who they thought pays out for successful insurance claims, over a third (35%) of people believe claims costs are met by the council's insurance rather than from their own pockets through council tax or diminished local services.

When it comes to dealing with insurance fraud, both local authorities and the general public are unanimous in agreement that fraudsters should be dealt with by the police, followed by punishments of recovery of costs and financial blacklisting.

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