Aviva detected 14% more claims fraud in 2024

Last year we stopped more than 12,700 fraudulent claims, worth £127m, and prevented around 98,000 fraudulent policy applications from being processed. Fraud isn't a victimless crime; by actively fighting fraud, we help to protect your clients from its harmful effects and additional costs.

We’ve been investing heavily in our counter fraud teams, and we’re stopping fraudsters in their tracks. Last year, our counter fraud team delivered more than 3,300 hours of training for claims handlers, engineers and suppliers.

The trends

Three in four fraudulent claims are in motor. Fraudsters are also increasingly looking to exaggerate and inflate the cost of repair and credit hire claims. This led to a 24% increase in the number of dishonest claims for motor damage in 2024. Since 2021, motor damage and credit hire fraud has grown by a staggering 275%.

Spoof ads

The use of ‘spoof ads’ on internet search engines by a small number of unscrupulous claims and accident management companies (CMC / AMC) continues to mislead customers into thinking they're contacting their motor insurer to claim for an accident they’ve had.

The trouble arises when the at-fault insurer challenges the inflated costs presented by the CMC or AMC. The claims company will then pressure the customer into paying, as they'll have signed contracts obliging them to pay if the repair, credit hire and other costs can’t be recovered. These costs are frequently in the tens of thousands of pounds. Although this would normally be covered as part of the customer’s insurance policy, because the customer inadvertently (and often unknowingly) claimed via a CMC or AMC, the insurer is both unaware of the claim and unable to help the customer.

Household fraud

Exaggerated or fabricated claims for household items now account for one in 10 detected fraudulent claims. Unlike motor fraud, which is often organised crime, the growth of household fraud is mostly opportunistic, as claimants seek to falsely inflate their claim. The top items in 2024 were:

• Mobile phones
• TVs
• Jewellery
• Laptops/tablets
• Watches

Commercial insurance fraud is also on the rise

Commercial insurance also saw a marked increase in fraudulently exaggerated claims costs. Property fraud led the way with an 89% increase in 2024, as so-called ‘enablers’ – third party claims professionals – seek to attach themselves to a claim with a view of exaggerating and building extra cost into the claim. In particular, we saw an increase in the number of exaggerated claims for escape of water.

Commercial motor insurance fraud also increased, up 14% in 2024. As with commercial property, exaggerated costs were the leading factor.

Application fraud and ghost broking

The number of fraudulent insurance applications nearly doubled from 2023, to more than 98,000. This increase reflects the continued investment we’ve made in our detection capabilities and training our application fraud investigators.

Within these figures, an 18% increase was detected in ghost-brokered policies and we linked an additional 8,600 cases to open investigations into known ghost broking cases.


Pete Ward, Head of Claims Counter Fraud, said:

“The overwhelming majority of our customers are honest, and we are committed to settling their claims quickly. But where we detect insurance fraud, we have a responsibility to protect our customers from its harmful effects and additional costs.

So it's encouraging to see a continued improvement in our fraud detection figures. Our ongoing investment in advanced analytics, machine learning models and continuous training for our people has significantly improved our fraud detection rates. We expect this trend to continue against a backdrop of ongoing economic hardship, which we know is a contributing factor to committing insurance fraud.

We were also the first insurer to successfully work with IFED (Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department) to use both the Serious Crime Prevention Order and Proceeds of Crime Act to make sure convicted fraudsters face imposing consequences if they reoffend. We'll continue to stay ahead of the evolving threat of fraud and help to protect our customers from the greedy and illegal acts of fraudsters.”

How can you help?

Whilst we'll continue to be vigilant when it comes to spotting fraudulent claims, you can play a vital role in supporting us and communicating the importance of early claims notification to your clients.

We ask you to encourage your clients to report all motor incidents to us as soon as possible, however minor they may seem, and stress the importance of taking down the details of the third party, especially the full name and telephone number. You can also highlight the benefits of full information gathering – any additional material such as photos, CCTV or any witness details could help if a fraudulent claim is made against your client or if a claim is disputed. These actions can help us to reduce the opportunity for fraud and work towards a fairer system for honest motorists.

_{*All figures are based on Aviva’s own data for the general insurance fraud it detected in 2024.}