By Joanna Partridge
Publication Date: 2026-06-08 05:00:00
Insurance company Aviva discovered more than £230 million worth of fake insurance claims last year as fraudsters tried new tricks, including using artificial intelligence, to falsify accident locations and documents and exaggerate damage.
The insurer identified more than 18,400 suspicious claims across its brands in 2025, with a total value of £233 million. The number of fraud claims was a record high for the insurer, even though this was the first year it included the Direct Line brands it acquired last summer.
Pete Ward, head of fraud at Aviva, said fraud was “not a victimless crime – it drives up the cost of insurance for everyone”. He added: “We are seeing fraud becoming more sophisticated, from exaggerated claims to the use of AI-generated documents.”
Looking only at Aviva’s general insurance business in the UK, excluding the Direct Line brands, car insurance fraud was responsible for the majority of bogus claims detected, more than seven out of ten cases.
Scammers set out…
