One in ten people in the UK say they have considered defrauding their insurer to ease the financial pressure of Christmas, a study from AXA insurance has revealed.
The study revealed a disproportionate rise in the amount of fire and theft claims for December, which raised concerns with AXA’s fraud department.
“We know from experience that the level of fire and theft claims rises disproportionately to other claim types so it’s safe to assume that in the run up to Christmas there is a huge leap in fraudulent claims as people try to find a way to finance their spending.” said Steve Gaywood, head of counter fraud at AXA car insurance.
The company said that fire claims in particular see the biggest spike with 40% more claims in December, followed by theft which last year peaked at 23% above the annual average.
The company says the findings suggest some people become more dishonest leading up to Christmas.
Mr Gaywood finished by saying, “Christmas is expensive and it is sad to see the desperate measures people will go to for a bit of extra cash but insurance fraud is really not the answer.
“As an industry we are investing millions in detection so the likelihood of getting caught is rising rapidly. And at the end of the day it is not only a criminal offence but increases the premiums of all honest insurance customers.”
