More than £1.1bn of fraudulent general insurance claims detected in 2024 – ABI

Some £1.16 billion worth of fraudulent general insurance claims were identified in 2024 – a 2% increase on the £1.14 billion detected the previous year – according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Insurers uncovered over 98,400 fraud-related claims in 2024, a 12% rise from 88,100 in 2023, according to the ABI’s figures.

Some 51,700 motor insurance scams worth £576 million were detected. This is 5% more than in 2023 and equates to more than half (53%) of detected bogus claims last year.

Insurers also identified 18,700 deceptive property insurance claims worth £189 million – 11% more than the volume of claims detected the previous year.

Exaggerated losses, when claims are deliberately inflated beyond their true value, are a theme that insurers are seeing.

The ABI also said insurers prevented an estimated 684,800 fraudulent insurance applications last year, a 7.4% increase from 2023.

Mark Allen, head of fraud and financial crime at the ABI, said: “It’s reassuring to see the industry making continued progress in tackling fraud, but with insurers continuing to detect over £1 billion worth bogus claims, the fight must continue and there will be no let-up in insurers’ pursuit of fraudsters.

“Fraud doesn’t just harm its victims. It drives up premiums for everyone and causes grave emotional distress.

“That’s why cracking down on bogus claims and applications remains a top priority, but fraud can’t be tackled in isolation. It needs a collaborative approach alongside those in other sectors.

“A lot of fraud occurs on social media, and it’s vital that technology companies and social media platforms work with us and play their part in prevention and detection.”

Ursula Jallow, director at the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), said: “We are working closely with the ABI, insurers, law enforcement and other key partners to disrupt fraud and shield the public from scams.

“If you have any information about insurance fraud, we urge you to report it confidentially to our CheatLine.”