In 2025, insurers weeded out fraudulent claims with a combined value of £1.34bn, according to the Association of British Insurers. This was up by 14% on the £1.18bn detected in the previous year. The average value for each claim reached £14,300, second only to the £14,600 recorded in 2022.

Motor fraud accounted for 55% of all bogus claims. The average fraudulent motor claim was £12,000, the highest level seen since 2015.

The move towards higher severity fraudulent claims was also recorded in the property market. The number of detected claims was down by 6.2% to 17,700, but their total value rose by 3.4% to £201m.

In the travel sector, discovered fraudulent claims rose by 85% to 4,500, while their value jumped 16% to £8.6m.

Mark Allen, head of fraud and financial crime at the ABI, said: “Although the rate of detected insurance fraud fell slightly last year, our data shows that fraudsters are targeting much bigger payouts. As emerging technologies such as AI become more widely available, fraudsters will continue to look for new ways to exploit them.

“Insurance fraud pushes up costs for everyone, making it more important than ever that as an industry, we continue to work together to detect, prevent and deter fraud across all lines. Anyone considering committing insurance fraud should be under no illusion – it’s a serious crime with serious consequences, including a criminal conviction and imprisonment.”