Insurers should brace themselves for a rise in fraudulent claims following the festive season, warned claims management company Absolute Customer Management.
Absolute director, and former head of fraud at Direct Line, Bill Trueman said fraudulent claims rise by between 40 and 100% depending on the type of fraud involved.
Trueman said financial pressures over the holiday period lead to many individuals trying to obtain money from insurers by deception. Both premeditative fraud, where individuals deliberately set out to enter a false claim, and opportunistic fraud, where policyholders inflated the value of a genuine claim, increased during the period.
"Fraudsters strike all the time, but more activity is seen around Christmas and in the early part of the New Year. During this period, activity by fraudsters rises by 40%-100% depending on their specialisms," said Trueman.
"Insurers need to be particularly vigilant. What can make that difficult is the natural rise in claim that occurs as the winter weather and short daylight hours have their effect on accidents and fires. Staff sickness levels and the sheer busyness of the period can also lead to insurers taking their eye off the ball at the most important time."
Absolute said the most common types of fraud during the festive season were:
· Vehicles being reported as stolen when, in reality, they have been repossessed by a finance company,
· Claimants failing to report that their keys were in the ignition of their car when it was stolen. The car motor was being warmed up at the time, and
· The number and value of items stolen in household burglaries being inflated.
