The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has released figures which show that over the course of last year, 24,000 fraudulent car insurance claims were uncovered by insurers. The fraud was worth a total of over a quarter of a billion pounds, or £5m per week.

The last three years has seen a surge in the number of detected fraudulent claims, which have soared by 70 per cent during that time.
Successfully prosecuted claims include a Rolls Royce owner who removed various items from his own vehicle, and then claimed £10,000 under the pretence that they had been stolen.

He was found out by police and received a criminal conviction. Other cases include a man who pushed his own car off a cliff to use the insurance money to pay off Hire Purchase costs, and a woman who deliberately ran into her own house with her Land Rover following an argument with her partner and claimed it was an accident.

Director of General Insurance and Health at the ABI, Nick Starling, has destroyed the case for insurance fraud being a victimless crime by pointing out that as a result of the activity insurance premiums for millions of honest motorists rise by an extra £40 per year, on average.

Because this, insurers are redoubling their efforts to detect false claims, and those who are caught committing the offence could face a criminal record in addition to much more expensive insurance and credit.