Insurance fraud on rise: report
Approximately £5.2 million of fraudulent insurance claims go undetected every day - a 24% increase on two years ago - a report has found.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that insurance fraud had soared to an estimated £1.9 billion a year.
Popular scams, which cost the average household £44 a year in higher premiums, included withholding information about a speeding conviction, listing the wrong address for a motor insurance policy or listing a parent as the main driver of a vehicle that was used most by a newly qualified driver.
But the ABI said that firms were getting better at detecting fraud, with suspect claims worth £730 million rejected last year.
The association reported a 35% increase in claims involving the damage or loss of LCD televisions, high value watches and laptops.
The ABI said that more people had also deliberately damaged furnishings or electrical goods so their insurer would pay for new ones.