Insurers will pay £9m to fund a police unit to fight insurance fraud.

The team of 35 detectives, plus support staff, will tackle fraud by organised gangs and individuals.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimates that detected insurance fraud costs the industry £1.9bn a year.

The team will be funded by members of the ABI for the next three years. The funding plan will be reviewed after two years.

The unit is set to go live at the beginning of 2012. It will be run by the City of London Police’s Economic Crime Directorate.

The anti-fraud unit will also work with the Insurance Fraud Bureau and the City of London Police's National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.

Commissioner of the City of London Police Adrian Leppard said: "A dedicated police unit funded by the insurance industry and operated by fraud detectives from the City of London Police is a major step forward in the fight against a crime that hits the pockets of everyone paying insurance premiums."

Topics