Home insurance fraud spikes in the North

Almost 800,000 people have defrauded their insurer by successfully making false insurance claims in the past five years.

New research published by moneysupermarket.com shows that as many as 10% of those surveyed would “consider making a false home insurance claim.”

Claims for total loss of partially damaged and repairable goods, inflated claims, claims for goods that were never owned are among the frauds that have been committed or policyholders would consider committing.

Peter Harrison, insurance expert at MoneySupermarket, said: “It’s extremely concerning to discover so many people are contemplating making a false or exaggerated claim on their home insurance. With recent news the UK has slipped into a double-dip recession, household finances will undoubtedly be stretched, but no matter how tempting, fabricating a claim for a payout is illegal, and you could face being prosecuted as a result.”

The data shows males are more likely to make a fraudulent claim (10%) compared to females (8%). Those under the age of 35 are more likely to act dishonestly, with 21% making, or likely to make, a false claim compared to just 10% of over 45’s.

The company says that, when it comes to fraudulent home insurance claims, there is also a North-South divide with people in the North East and North West (14 per cent) most likely to make a false claim, with 15% and 14% respectively. South East residents were the least likely to make a claim, with only 8% stating they’d be prepared to do so.