New data has revealed there were 180,675 dishonest motor insurance applications in 2013.
Insurance Age reports that figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) revealed there were around 3,500 fraudulent motor applications each week in 2013.
The data includes applications where motorists had lied about or knowingly failed to disclose relevant information, such as previous claims, and unspent motoring convictions, when asked.
It has been calculated that fraudulent applications add around £50 to every household’s annual insurance bill.
Aidan Kerr, ABI’s Assistant Director, Head of Fraud, told Insurance Age: “While insurers know that innocent mistakes and oversights happen, they are also aware that some people think that being less than honest is the way to get cheaper cover, when the way to get the best deal is to play it straight with the insurer.
“Industry initiatives, such as the Insurance Fraud Register and the soon to be available MyLicence initiative that will address non-disclosure of motoring offences, will make it harder than ever to deceive to try and get cheaper motor cover.”
Examples of fraudulent applications include:
• A motorist with a poor credit rating tried to use an alias to buy motor cover.
• An applicant failed to disclose four previous claims, and an unspent motoring conviction which had led to a three year prison sentence.
• A motorist had attempted to alter his driving licence to remove driving convictions.
Insurance Fraud Bureau director Ben Fletcher added: “The fact is, there are chancers who take a punt and then there are those who deliberately provide false information at the stage of applying for an insurance policy.
“Both undermine the underwriting process and have consequences for honest customers. The IFB are committed to supporting the industry focusing on the deliberate and systematic fraudsters, using the vast range of data at our fingertips to help insurers take action.”