2016 Insurance Fraud Taskforce: Final report

Insurance fraud is not victimless. It pushes up the cost of insurance for honest consumers; funds the wider activities of criminal gangs; and puts pressure on essential public services, such as the NHS and courts. Contrary to the perception of many of those who commit fraud, they are not stealing from a faceless corporation. The costs are paid by their friends, families and neighbours through higher insurance premiums. The value of detected fraud is in excess of £1 billion and undetected insurance fraud is estimated to cost the UK economy more than £2 billion a year. Furthermore the normalisation of fraudulent behaviour is socially corrosive and erodes trust.

This report represents the culmination of the Taskforce’s year-long review into insurance fraud. In it, the Taskforce explores relevant issues including the scale and impact, regulators and legal frameworks and what has already been done to tackle fraud, before making a range of targeted recommendations.

The recommendations aim to tackle fraudulent activity ranging from organised or premeditated crime to opportunistic fraud, with the overall objective of ultimately reducing costs for consumers. The recommendations aim to improve consumer trust in the insurance sector and raise the public profile of insurance fraud as a criminal activity; encourage greater use of data sharing and collaboration between the insurance sector and regulatory bodies to better prevent organised insurance fraud; and reflect and support the government’s intentions to clamp down on unnecessary whiplash claims, which are a major source of fraud, and strengthen regulation of claims management companies.