Insurance fraud: 'we do it though we know it's bad'

Almost one in ten British adults from all backgrounds admit to having made fraudulent insurance claims despite believing insurance fraud to be a serious crime, according to a new survey.

The research carried out by Experian shows that people’s attitudes towards insurance fraud are mixed so while 91 per cent are convinced that it is a serious offence, only 14 per cent would report the crime.

David Murby of Experian’s insurance services division said: "The survey revealed that people are well aware of what constitutes insurance fraud and consider it a fairly serious crime, which is not victimless, but they see it as a crime against an organisation rather than an individual and, as a result, appear less likely to report it."

He added that the insurance industry loses £1.5 billion a year to fraud which ranges from exaggerated claims to staged accidents.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) defines fraud as a combination of the intent to deceive and an attempt to get more money from the insurer.

FSA guidelines suggest that an insurer that suspects a customer should notify the customer of their suspicions instead of refusing the claim on other grounds.