Travel insurance fraud cases surge 85% as UK scammers target BIGGER payouts, hitting £1.34bn in 2025

From the Newshound archive · first published 6 October 2026 · last updated 7 October 2026.

Fraudsters are filing fewer but far more ambitious insurance claims, with detected fraud jumping 14% in value to £1.34bn in 2025 even as the number of caught cases fell slightly to 93,900, according to the Association of British Insurers. Travel insurance saw the sharpest rise, with detected cases up 85% to 4,500, while one fraudster was jailed for four and a half years after submitting over £300,000 in false medical emergency claims built on fabricated identities and forged paperwork. The average fraudulent claim hit £14,300 — the second-highest on record — as the ABI warns that AI is handing criminals powerful new tools to exploit insurers.

Motor fraud remains the biggest problem, accounting for 55% of all detected cases at £625m across 51,900 bogus claims.

Matthew Johnson, of Misterton in Nottinghamshire, was jailed for 28 months and ordered to repay over £14,000 after faking burglaries to claim for collectible Lego sets, MacBooks and gaming consoles.

The ABI's fraud chief warns anyone tempted should expect 'a criminal conviction and imprisonment' as insurers say rising fraud is pushing up premiums for every honest customer.