Fraud
Here at Aviva, we work closely with regulators and enforcement agencies to tackle fraud. While we’re tough on fraud, we also look out for our genuine customers. That’s why we’ve put checks in place to make sure our counter fraud practices don’t get in the way when you need us most.
How do you report a suspected fraud?
We all have a role to play to help stop insurance fraud. Please report all concerns of fraud to our counter fraud team or your Business Development Manager.
There are also two industry bodies that you can report fraud concerns to:
Pete Ward, Head of claims counter fraud
"Counter fraud will always have a sharp focus here at Aviva - we're committed as a business to ensuring that the cost of insurance fraud isn't passed on to our genuine customers. If you'd like to learn more about what we're doing as a business to tackle emerging threats, please don't hesitate to get in touch."
Watch our fraud videos
Transcript for video Claims Fraud Webinar 2024
Claims Fraud Webinar 2024
Transcript for video Counter Fraud Webinar
Counter Fraud Webinar
Transcript for video What is paid-ad spoofing and how are Aviva tackling this issue?
Transcript for video Commercial motor collision - Driver
Transcript for video Commercial motor collision - Business owner
Transcript for video aviva_claims_&_counter_fraud (1080p)
aviva_claims_&_counter_fraud (1080p)
Types of fraud
What should you look out for? Here are a few examples of insurance fraud, but criminals are always finding new ways to commit this crime.
Claims Farming
Claims Farming companies often cold-call people known to have been involved in a road traffic collision. They want to find non-fault motor claims so they can encourage those involved in an accident to make a compensation claim. Once this has been agreed, they then sell on the "claim" to a solicitor for a fee. Over recent years the business model has evolved, such as posting misleading online adverts to encourage motorists to believe they're contacting their insurer for the support they need.
How can you help you clients?
- Educate clients about the personal risks of entering legally binding contracts which can potentially expose them to significant debt.
- Help clients to identify red flags such as unsolicited calls or emails, scripted introductions and rapid segues into the offer of services at no cost and a suggestion that personal injury should and is expected to be claimed.
Fronting
Fronting is where usually an older policyholder is named as the main driver or sole user of a vehicle to gain a lower risk rating, even though they aren't actually potentially using the vehicle. The named driver on the policy is the 'true' risk and owns the vehicle. Fronting can even involve Indemnity Theft, where a Ghost Broker has taken personal details of someone else to attract a reduced premium.
How can you spot Fronting?
- Obtain proof of identification for all drivers and the vehicle V5
Are there records of the vehicle, risk address, email address or telephone number linked to another person?
Does the voice appear to match their declared age?
Can they readily answer all questions asked of them?
Does the email address have an obvious connection to the named driver?
Who is paying for the policy?
Does the payment address match the policy address?
Is there evidence of other (multiple) quotes for the named driver?
Ghost Broking
Ghost Brokers are fraudsters who sell forged or invalid policies though social media or within a community, claiming to be able to secure cheap motor insurance policies. Ghost Brokers often prefer contact via WhatsApp, SnapChat or email and they'll request a fee for their service to secure the deal. Once they've received the fee, they'll often block the person to stop them from further contact.
How can you help your clients?
- Make your clients aware about the risk of Ghost Broking
- Encourage them to always know who they're speaking to and that their insurer or you aren't being impersonated
- Let them know we won't contact them via social media or ask them for any upfront service fees via bank transfer
Has your client been contacted by a Ghost Broker?
Obtain the following information from your client:
Proof of bank transfers for fees/services paid
Screenshots of WhatsApp messages
Details of telephone numbers, social media accounts and websites
Opportunistic fraud
This is where someone takes advantage of a situation to exaggerate a genuine loss or invents a fictitious claim. It's often impulsive and can be linked to financial hardship or coercion from third parties. Examples include claiming for a personal injury after a road accident that doesn't exist, claiming for pre-existing motor damage and claiming for additional items or damage on a household schedule of loss.
How can you spot opportunistic fraud?
- If a previous claim for similar loss has been reported or additional loss is claimed after first notification
What can you say to a client who you think might be making an opportunistic claim?
- Let your client know that we may require additional supporting evidence to validate their claim
- Tell them about consequences of submitting a false claim, including difficulty in obtaining future insurance cover and even a potential criminal record
Organised Fraud
From Ghost Broking to fraudulent claims, organised fraud is a serious threat to our industry. Cash for crash claims, misrepresented claims and overinflated claims can be carried out by an individual or group of people acting together to defraud insurers.
What should you consider?
- Thorough identification verification is the first line of defence
- Do the personal / vehicle details provided by a client partially match against other policy records held on file?
- Has the policyholder notified a previous claim to you?
- Is the vehicle or some other personal information provided by the policyholder subject of a previous claim notified to you by another party?
- Has the insured vehicle previously been declared a ‘total loss’ and if so, when?
- Has the policyholder previously cancelled insurance cover shortly after inception?
What do we do to fight fraud?
Our Counter Fraud Teams
Technology
Our fraud team includes a dedicated data science unit with a remit to develop in-house counter-fraud technologies. Our policy and claims fraud analytics evolve at pace with the capacity to review an ever-increasing number of data sets without impacting genuine customer journeys. This team have developed a wide range of additional fraud detection tools which further enhance efficient and effective processing of suspect claims and policies to speed up appropriate outcomes.
Industry Bodies
We work closely with industry partners to combat fraud across the sector. We're representatives on the General Insurance Fraud Committee. We also work closely with local police forces, the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) and the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) for which we sit on the non-executive board.
The importance of early notification of loss
The sooner we find out about a motor incident, the sooner we can help. If we’re notified as soon as an incident happens, we’re able to act quickly to support both parties which enables us to manage the cost of the overall claim, as well as reduce opportunities for fraud.
Defence Excellence
We’ve invested in our ability to prevent, detect and respond to fraud, across both our personal and commercial insurance business.*
10,000+
claims repudiated for fraud
6,000+
hours of counter-fraud training delivered to our staff
400+
bodily injury claims defended at trial
£5.7m
from organised crash for cash claims denied
17
years’ worth of custodial sentences resulting from prosecution
40,000
motor policies worth £65m were refused due to fraud
* All figures are for the year 2023.
How have we won against the fraudsters?
Ghost Broking
We were contacted by someone because they weren't able to access their online account. Unfortunately we found out that the policy was provided by a Ghost Broker who had contacted them via Instagram. They had completed a quote form via WhatsApp, which included details of their driving license, payment card and bank details. We supported them by providing awareness of the right procedures for taking out insurance and although their policy was voided, we reimbursed their premium deposit.
Fronting / Impersonation
We contacted a homeowner whose address was used to incept a policy of concern. They told us that they had no knowledge of an Aviva motor policy in their name. They didn't even know the named driver or the vehicle. We found out that the named driver lived elsewhere and were aiming to get a cheaper premium and their policy was voided. There was no detriment to the homeowner whose identity had been stolen.
Organised Fraud
We saw that an organised crime group (OCG) had taken out around 60 policies and then causing road traffic collisions by a dealer account. Our team worked closely with the broker to close the accounts and harvest all available intelligence. This unearthed several further claims with us and several other insurers. Following the closure of the dealer account, no further policies of concern were incepted.
Advice and support
Can't find what you're looking for?
If you still have questions or are looking for advice and support, find out more below.
