UK & World News
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
Bumped-up insurance claims 'surge'
01:05, Feb 11 2012
Exaggerated home insurance claims have surged in the last year amid the tough economic backdrop, research has suggested.
Axa said the industry is seen as a "soft target" for people who want to make extra cash, as households continue to face pressure from high living costs and deteriorating employment conditions.
The insurer carried out a study which found that 9% of people who said they had made a claim in the last five years had exaggerated it, typically adding an extra £607 on to their totals. The figure is up from around 7% of people who said they had bumped up a claim when a similar study was carried out a year ago.
Exaggerated claims related to televisions, particularly before big sporting events, jewellery or cash which never existed, people stating they had designer goods stolen when they were actually fakes and people claiming they had a freezer filled with fine dining ingredients such as lobster and steak rather than the reality of fish fingers and peas.
Respondents had made claims to home insurers across the board, not just Axa, and the company estimated from its findings that 200,000 UK consumers made exaggerated home insurance claims last year.
Less than half (45%) of people surveyed consider an exaggerated claim to be dishonest and more than one in 10 people would be more likely to consider trying to bump up a claim than they were three years ago.
Axa also found that men are nearly twice as likely to have made an exaggerated claim than women. Around 12% of men who had made a claim at some point said they have stretched the truth, compared with around 6% of women.
Steve Gaywood, head of fraud at Axa, said: "As an industry we are well aware that these things go on and we are introducing measures all the time to try and reduce the amount of fraud that occurs."
He added: "Ultimately, if consumers get caught out they run the risk of having the whole claim turned down as well as facing problems getting insurance in the future. It is not a victimless crime, honest customers end up footing the bill through higher premiums as insurers pass on the additional costs of inflated claims."
Axa has previously said that exaggerated claims can add as much as £13 to every home insurance policy.
Pair set for child cruelty sentence 16:05, May 21 2012
A mother and stepfather who forced their 11-year-old son to live in a filthy converted coal-bunker have been put behind bars. more
Bomber kills 90 at military drill 15:05, May 21 2012
At least 90 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Mandelson denies deal with Murdoch 15:05, May 21 2012
Lord Mandelson has denied there was any deal between Labour and Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire ahead of the 1997 general election. more
MacAskill defends Megrahi release 15:05, May 21 2012
Scotland's Justice Secretary has defended his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber almost three years ago as the only man convicted of the tragedy is buried in Libya today. more
Bomber kills 60 at military drill 14:05, May 21 2012
At least 60 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Olympic flame goes out during relay 13:05, May 21 2012
The Olympic torch went out for the first time during the London 2012 relay, organisers have confirmed. more
Missing children website relaunched 13:05, May 21 2012
An official website to help find missing and abducted children from the UK has been relaunched by the police's specialist child protection agency. more
Watchdog launches Hunt inquiry 13:05, May 21 2012
Westminster's sleaze watchdog has launched an inquiry into Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt following claims that he failed to register donations from media firms, it was revealed. more
38 soldiers killed in Yemen attack 12:05, May 21 2012
At least 38 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Miliband attacks social inequality 12:05, May 21 2012
Ed Miliband has accused the Government of taking backward steps on social mobility by allowing inequality to grow and denying bright youngsters from poor backgrounds the chance to succeed. more
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
