Doctored images are the current hack fraudsters are employing to make fake claims from their insurers – with providers recently revealing they have seen a rise of 300% in the last year.
With the rise in technologies like Artificial Intelligence making false claims through photographs all the more accessible to the public, the experts at Independent Advisor Car Insurance offer a refresher on the consequences of getting caught lying to your insurance provider.
Lying on your application
A quarter of young people have said they would lie on their car insurance application to save money. This is called non-disclosure. Connor Campbell, car insurance expert at Independent Advisor, goes over the consequences:
“Fudging the details on your car insurance application to cut down on costs might seem like a quick way to save cash, but it can carry serious consequences. If you’re involved in an incident and need to make a claim, but you’ve provided false information, you could:
- Have your claim rejected outright
- Have your policy terminated
- Have to tell all future insurers about all non-disclosures, meaning several providers could refuse to cover you
- Be subjected to unlimited fines and further prosecution.”
Can I commit fraud unintentionally?
“You also run these risks if you fail to update your insurer during your term. Any additional drivers, changes to address, occupation, vehicle modifications or uses for your car that your provider doesn’t know about could be a problem later on.”
Motor insurance fraud makes up the majority of fraud cases – around 43,000 UK drivers are prosecuted for it every year.
Will insurers investigate my claim?
“Once you make a claim, an insurance company will work to process the validity and value of the incident.
This can encompass several steps. Insurers may:
- Take witness statements
- Survey the relevant area and perform an inspection
- Collect physical evidence
- Gather documents like police accident reports, their own photos and video recordings
- Interview you about the claim.
With certain types of motor insurance fraud becoming more common, it is likely that companies will go through any number of these steps when assessing your claim and put it under any scrutiny they see necessary.”
Making a bogus claim
Between April 2022 and March 2023, the UK saw a rise of 61% in opportunistic car insurance fraud. This is when a claimant exaggerates or creates an incident for a larger payout. Connor Campbell comments:
“The rising cost of living can make the idea of falsifying an insurance claim seem like an appealing short-term solution. However, the quick windfall of cash can be followed by consequences that could follow you for life.
If your insurer finds out your claim is bogus, not only will it be rejected, your entire policy could be terminated and you risk having that costly stain on all your insurance records for life.
You may also end up with a criminal record. As well as coming with an unlimited fine, you can end up with a 6 month or longer prison sentence for committing insurance fraud.”
