The big ?
Exaggerated or false claims amount to around £3.5 million a week in the general insurance market, says the Association of British Insurers. New fraud detection techniques and sharing of information between insurers are being used to tackle fraud, but how do others view the issue? asks Hiscox NewsThe broker
Richard Bishop, Belmont International
“There’s no doubt that fraud is a major issue for the insurance industry. But the industry hasn’t done itself any favours over the years. The big companies took far too long to wake up to fraud as an issue and this has meant fraudulent claims are seen by many policyholders as a sanctioned activity. Nobody bothered saying ‘no’ to them, and now fraud is becoming more and more sophisticated. Certainly the industry has wised up and is adopting the latest technology to spot fraudulent claims, but it’s difficult to know when a claim is bad and you can’t control the morals of individuals. Quality brokers do their best to shield insurance companies from that aspect.”
The insurer
Jeremy Pinchin, Hiscox
“Our key aims are to provide risk transfer at an affordable price and strong customer service. Both of these are impacted by fraud. We must maintain a zero tolerance of such activities.”
The policyholder
Helene Dancer, London
“I think it’s totally unfair that policyholders end up paying higher premiums because of insurance cheats. We are the only victims. It’s frustrating knowing that you are paying higher premiums because someone thinks they can get away with what they see as a bit of ‘harmless fiddling’. But it’s not harmless. Yes, of course I’ve known people who have inflated or exaggerated their claims – who doesn’t?”