Back to Latest press releases

We all pay for£800 million insurance fraud

Press release search

Search our archive of press releases.

		GO

Press release archive

Search our archive of press
releases by year.

2012 releases

2011 releases

2010 releases

2009 releases

2008 releases

2007 releases

2006 releases

2005 releases

2004 releases

2003 releases

2002 releases

RSS feed

You can subscribe to receive the latest press releases from Admiral with RSS.

	Press release RSS feed

02/08/2003

Direct car insurer, Admiral has surveyed 1,200 UK motorists and discovered that while most people realise insurance fraud affects all drivers, nearly 10% still believe it is acceptable. While research by the Association of British Insurers, reveals 7% of motorists have already made a fraudulent insurance claim.

Admiral managing director, Jane Stone, said, "Although 7% doesn't sound much, when you consider there are 30 million private cars on the road in the UK, you are looking at 2.1 million drivers. We want people to be aware that fraud is not a victimless crime, insurance companies cannot just write this money off and in the end we all pay with higher premiums."

There are many different levels of insurance fraud, from those who exaggerate a genuine claim to increase their payout, to gangs or criminals who make a career out of fraud by staging multiple car crashes.

But now the insurers are fighting back. Admiral is one of 30 insurance companies that contributes to the Claims Underwriting Exchange. This is a database listing details of all claims in the UK. The companies can cross-reference any new claims with the database to see if there are any links and so detect fraudulent claims.

Admiral, like other insurers, also checks all cars on the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR). It tells them if a car has been previously written off or stolen. MIAFTR is the first line in detecting fraud.

But the best weapon of all against theft is human skill and intuition. Admiral's Claims staff are extensively trained so they can identify fraud. And, if they need to they will appoint a loss adjuster to personally interview someone they are suspicious may be committing a fraud.

Jane Stone, said, "We pride ourselves on our well-trained Claims staff, they are the best defence against fraud. We want to be able to reduce the cost of insurance and by taking the time to investigate anything we find suspicious, we can hopefully reduce the fraudulent claims."

Tweet