Ecclesiastical fraud investigations rise 20% as £3m of claims rejected

Ecclesiastical’s claims team saved more than £3m by challenging fraudulent claims during 2025.

The specialist insurer said its claims specialists investigated more than 280 suspected fraudulent claims last year, representing a 20% increase on 2024.

Over the same period, Ecclesiastical’s fraud detection rate rose by 5.5 percentage points, increasing from 8.3% to 13.8%, which the insurer attributed to continued investment in training and staff development.

Casualty claims accounted for more than £2m of the total savings, marking a 30% year-on-year increase.

Around half of the detected casualty fraud related to slips and trips claims, many of which involved false injury narratives that were investigated and subsequently disproved.

The update came against a backdrop of heightened concern around insurance fraud across the UK market. Figures published by the ABI showed insurers uncovered £1.16bn of dishonest claims in 2024, while the trade body estimated a similar value may go undetected, underlining the growing sophistication of fraudsters.

Case studies

Ecclesiastical highlighted several examples of claims that were successfully challenged, including a personal injury claim in which a third party alleged they suffered a concussion after walking into a stalactite at a customer’s premises. The claim was withdrawn after the insurer questioned how the claimant was able to exit via a lengthy route and drive to the hospital despite the alleged injuries.

In another case, a reported burglary involving designer clothing was rejected after retailers confirmed the items had been cancelled and fully refunded long before the alleged break-in.

The claims team also identified a growing trend of collusion between fraudulent claimants and contractors. Ecclesiastical said it had uncovered manipulated estimates featuring near-identical quotes, undisclosed relationships identified through online links and social media, as well as invoice fraud involving inflated or fabricated bills.

Jeremy Trott, claims director at Ecclesiastical Insurance, said insurance fraud continued to cost insurers and customers billions of pounds each year.

He added: “With the UK continuing to experience economic volatility, businesses and households are already under difficult financial pressure, but we are committed to tackling fraud in the strongest means possible.

“By investing time, money and effort into pursuing false claims, we can continue to strengthen our defences, support our customers and deter would-be fraudsters.”