ILC ARTICLE

Aviva reports sharp rise in insurance fraud

30th May 2022

Aviva has reported a 13% increase in fraudulent claims during 2021.

It identified 11,000 instances of claims fraud worth more than £122m, while investigations are still ongoing into a further 16,700 potentially fraudulent claims.

Motor fraud was the most common case detected, accounting for 60% of all claims fraud cases detected by Aviva, representing an increase of 10.7% on the previous year.

Although the Whiplash Reforms introduced at the start of this year are expected to reduce motor insurance fraud, Aviva says there are early signs that organised fraudsters are now targeting the repair aspects of a motor claim, including credit hire and repair.

Aviva also identified fraud on more than 20,000 motor policy applications, with ghost broking accounting for 15% of these.

Elsewhere, fraudulent home insurance claims shot up 45% during 2021 – although they still only accounted for 13% of the total number – driven by a sharp rise in claims for accidental damage, accidental loss and theft, with the average value for a fraudulent household insurance claim at £3,645.

Waseem Malik, Chief Claims Officer, Aviva UK General Insurance, said, “Fraud is typically committed for reasons of need or greed, and we believe the increase in claims fraud last year is linked to reduced incomes during Covid-19 lockdowns.

“As more households and businesses come under increased financial stress due to the cost-of-living crisis, we expect to see more claims fraud, especially on home, small business and liability insurance policies.
“We will also be keeping a watchful eye on motor injury fraud this year, to see if it declines as the Whiplash Reforms bed in. Although it’s early days, we are starting to see some signs that organised fraudsters involved in motor injury fraud are moving into the repair side of motor claims, as well as liability frauds such as slips and trips.”