Allianz UK uncovered more than 15,800 instances of insurance fraud across personal, commercial and specialty lines worth a total of £92.6m in the first half of 2025 – up 34% (£68.9m) on the same period in 2024.
Fraud types and trends
Across motor and casualty, trends included:
• A persistent threat from application fraud and in particular Ghost Brokers. The sophistication of the gangs continues to evolve, as they look to try different approaches, including making many changes to policies to try and avoid detection and trying to exploit short term policies.
• Gangs continuing to target and use moped riders in both policy and claims fraud scams, often linked to the gig economy and delivery drivers.
• Continued exaggeration and fabrication of non-tariff injuries (meaning that they earn more money from pursing them, than soft-tissue injuries, which have pre-agreed limits built in).
• Ballooning of claims. Where a claim is submitted, at face value looking quite straight forward, in an attempt to get through initial validation and seek an admission of liability. Once that happens, suddenly the claims balloons out of control, with different claims being added.
How Allianz fights fraudsters
Allianz uses an array of sophisticated techniques to detect fraudsters, which includes a continued investment and focus on proactive approaches and machine learning models. Allianz UK also uses voice analytics tools to not just detect fraud but to accelerate the processing of genuine customer claims. It has also significantly increased collaboration with broker partners to identify and prevent fraud.
As part of this continued commitment to stay ahead of evolving fraud tactics Allianz UK has now partnered with Carpe data, a US based data and technology firm that helps identify suspect personal injury fraud, part of a planned series of partnerships which includes voice analytic partner Clearspeed.
This strategy means that is has never been harder to commit fraud against Allianz UK, whether that is a low value opportunistic fraud, or a high value sophisticated organised scam. Having the tools, skills and appetite to defend against fraud, ensures that Allianz can protect their honest customers and the harms to society that fraud causes.
Ben Fletcher, Director of Fraud at Allianz UK, said: "Insurance fraud is a serious threat to trust, fairness, and the financial wellbeing of honest customers, it can lead to increased premiums, strains resources, and diverts funds away from genuine claims that require support. From inflated claims to calculated deception, fraudsters are evolving - but so are we. Every time we detect fraudulent activity, we are standing up for our honest customers. I really hope the work we do shows the value of insurance. We’re taking a proactive, multi-layered approach to detection and prevention. By combining cutting-edge technology and the insights of our people, we’re building a defence that’s fast, agile, and relentless. This isn’t just about catching fraud - it’s about protecting genuine claims, safeguarding customer value, and preserving the integrity of the insurance industry.”
|
