Fraud pushes up insurance premiums

Posted :21-04-2006

Insurance fraud in the UK is costing us £1.5 billion a year and is pushing up insurance premiums by up to five per cent.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has spoken out ahead of a government report expected to be published in the summer saying that action needs to be taken to curb the problems of fraud.

The association has said that action taken by insurers must be backed up by the police in order to be effective.

Nick Starling, ABI's director general, commented: "The extent of fraud is under-estimated, and its detection under-resourced. Yet its impact is very real and serious. It has become as big a money earner for criminal gangs as drugs."

"We need a national fraud strategy based on greater prioritisation for police and [the] Crown Prosecution Service to reinforce action being taken by the insurance industry to reduce the problem," he said.

The ABI has recommend a series of initiatives such as having regional fraud squads and better information sharing between the public and private sector with an information hub.


© Adfero Ltd

The views expressed within the article are entirely those of Adfero Ltd and are not those of BDML Connect Ltd