Car insurance fraud 'on the rise'
Insurers are seeing increased evidence of car insurance underwriting fraud as credit-crunched customers seek to dishonestly shave money off their premiums, new research has revealed.
According to the study, conducted by Norwich Union, the extra costs of dealing with these fraudulent cases are passed on to other customers by insurance companies.Fraud currently costs the insurance industry more than £1.6 billion a year, a sum which adds between £50 and £60 to every honest driver's premium.
Simon Warsop, director of motor pricing at Norwich Union, said: "As the nation feels the pinch from the credit crunch, more and more people think that they can get away with dishonesty for what is seen as a victimless crime.
He added that insurance fraud is not a victimless crime, saying "the victims are actually the majority of honest drivers who are subsidising the dishonest ones".
Recently, a survey by Abbey warned that the recession is likely to cause increased incidence of crimes like domestic break-ins.
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