More than one in four claims for the smartphone not settled over the first half of the year

Claims handling and risk management firm VFM has warned insurers that it is expecting a rise in fraudulent iPhone claims in the run-up to Christmas.

VFM said the launch of the latest model of the smartphone, iPhone5S, will lead to more consumers launching fraudulent claims in an effort to get the latest model.

VFM director Sally Griffiths said: “We saw the same pattern emerging in the aftermath of the launch of the iPhone5, and fully expect the level to peak in the next month or so, in the aftermath of the launch of the iPhone5s, and in the run-up to Christmas.

“We want to warn insurers to be extra vigilant when settling claims for iPhones, as our experience shows that people want to get the newest devices, and are prepared to defraud their insurance company in order to do so.”

VFM said that over the first half of 2013 41% of iPhone claims it dealt with were not settled or the customer stopped the claim after being challenged by VFM’s conversation management process.

The company is expecting almost half of all iPhone claims over the next few months to be highlighted as potentially fraudulent by its fraud detection processes, saving insurers hundreds of thousands of pounds over the last six months of the year.