The material is a product of research conducted by L&G’s Fraudstoppers campaign and includes a video available online featuring interviews with industry commentators from Wesleyan Financial Services, Honister Capital, LSL Group and Positive Solutions.
Research conducted by L&G revealed only 32% of intermediaries are “somewhat clear” on exactly what constitutes insurance fraud.
Figures from the Fraudstoppers report highlighted that 57% of intermediaries thought that people can get away with an inflated claim and 26% believed that house insurance claims were exaggerated by 25% of more.
Meanwhile 67% of insurance intermediaries don’t believe that insurance fraud can be stamped out and 74% felt that the recession had made insurance fraud a bigger problem.
Steve Phillips, head of fraud services at L&G, said: “Our FraudStoppers report highlights just what a big problem fraud is for the industry. What was encouraging was that nearly half, of intermediaries have faith in the industry’s detection efforts to stop people inflating or falsifying clams. However we need to improve fraud detection rates so that honest customers do not continue to pick up the bill as the cost of fraud means that an additional amount is added to everyone’s home insurance premium.
“The direct contact and ongoing relationship that intermediaries have with their customers, means they are best placed to improve clients’ understanding of the implications of insurance fraud. The information we now have available and on the special Fraudstoppers site will also help intermediaries to check and question anything that they don’t think looks right.
“Working together with intermediaries and their clients, will hopefully help to get the message out that fraud does not pay, it should reduce the cost of home insurance and make any fraudsters think twice.”
Figures from the Association of British Insurers released in December 2010 revealed that over 2,000 dishonest insurance claims worth more than £16 million were detected every week across the insurance industry. The value of these claims, at £840 million, rose by 14% on the previous year.
