Insurance fraudsters cost every motorist £50 a year

The register is designed to help insurers identify fraudulent claims, easing a financial burden that has weighed on the industry’s profits, the Association of British Insurers said.

“The register will make it easier for insurers to prevent fraud by making details of known fraudsters available to insurers through a secure protocol,” said Richard Davies of the ABI’s Financial Crime Committee.

“Those that defraud insurers and their honest customers face real and tangible consequences for their actions.”

Insurers detected 139,000 bogus claims in 2011, saving themselves almost £1bn of payouts, according to the ABI.

Fraudulent motor insurance claims were the most costly, accounting for more than half the savings. Motor insurers say a steady rise in spurious or fraudulent claims has been a factor behind their suffering an underwriting loss every year since 1994.

According to the Insurance Fraud Bureau, an industry-funded body set up in 2006 to investigate dishonest claims, undetected fraud costs British insurers £2.1bn every year.

ABI members also pay for a 35-man police squad dedicated to tackling insurance fraud. The unit, which launched in January this year, costs the industry about £2.9m pounds a year.

Britain’s biggest home and motor insurers include RBS, Aviva, RSA and Legal & General.