Home Subscribe Advertising Contact info Industry Links Company &    Ratings Search Daily service Email Us

July 29: False insurance claims up in UK but fraudsters more likely than ever to get caught     Copyright Thompson’s World Insurance News)     There was the man who claimed he had fractured his hand after falling over a pothole in the street when in fact he had sustained the injury after he punched a wall during a domestic dispute.     The young woman who said she tripped over a loose pavement when her injuries were actually sustained from jumping down a flight of stairs while running away from security guards on suspicion of shoplifting.     And the claim where head injuries allegedly sustained by falling over were in fact sustained after being hit on the head by a baseball bat during a fight.     These were just three of the 2,000 dishonest claims detected every week in 2009 by members of the Association of British Insurers.     It said they were worth the equivalent of CAD$26m.     The year’s total of 122,000 was up 14% on the previous year. Their value, CAD$1.36bn, was up by the same proportion.     Motor (auto) insurance frauds were highest by value with dishonest claims totalling CAD$663m uncovered.     The most common frauds involved home insurance, with 62,000 bogus or exaggerated claims detected.     Association Director of General Insurance and Health Nick Starling said fraudsters now are more likely than ever to get caught.     This leads to more expensive and harder to obtain insurance and credit, and the possibility of a criminal record.        Thompson’s World Insurance News P.O. Box 1027,  Waterloo, Ontario,  Canada  N2J 4S1 Tel: 519-579-2500 Fax: 519-745-7321 mpub@sympatico.ca THOMPSON’S WORLD INSURANCE NEWS , Canada’s only independent weekly for p&c insurance professionals, has been the industry’s most trusted news source since 1988.