Zurich UK detected a record £109.3 million of fraudulent insurance claims in the past 12 months, equivalent to one bogus claim every two hours.
The insurer uncovered 4,359 fraudulent claims across its casualty, motor and property books, its highest ever by both value and volume. The number of fraudulent claims detected has risen 22% from 3,562 in 2022.
Casualty accounted for most of the fraud, with £61.6 million across 2,380 claims. Zurich also detected £28.1 million of motor fraud across 1,027 claims, and £19.6 million of property fraud across 951 claims.
Connected AI and advanced analytics identified 860 fraudulent claims worth £17.9 million, around one in five of all cases detected. Zurich uses technology from data analytics firm Quantexa to link each claim with information from Companies House, Equifax, industry intelligence and the Insurance Fraud Register.
Zurich said it was the first insurer to connect every claim across multiple data sources for an individual claimant. The approach has exposed claimants using aliases to hide previous claims, several apparently unrelated claims linked to the same accident location, and networks involving rogue solicitors and accident management companies. In one case, it linked people living in one part of the UK to suspected staged accidents hundreds of miles away.
“Insurance fraud in the UK is becoming more sophisticated, more organised and increasingly technology-enabled,” said Scott Clayton, head of claims fraud at Zurich UK and chair of the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB).
Clayton said criminal networks were constantly adapting, using staged accidents, ghost broking, fabricated claims and AI-generated evidence. He said the combination of analytics, specialist investigators and human judgement was proving a strong defence.
Zurich said the same analytics help it pay honest customers faster. Where checks show a claim carries a low fraud risk, claims teams can settle it more quickly and with less friction.
Ursula Jallow, executive director of the IFB, said fraud was becoming increasingly sophisticated and AI-driven. She said the IFB’s Connected to Protect strategy was using technology, data and cross-sector collaboration to strengthen detection and disrupt criminal activity.
Zurich’s figures reflect a wider trend. Insurers detected £1.34 billion of fraudulent claims across the industry in 2025, according to the Association of British Insurers. The total value rose 14% even as case numbers fell slightly, as fraudsters targeted bigger payouts. Insurers also stopped £1.8 billion of fraudulent applications, with application fraud cases up 24%.
The theme of connected data runs through recent fraud cases elsewhere too. In South Africa, a single fabricated death was claimed at four insurers within a week, and it was only uncovered when claims were compared across the market.
For brokers, the rise of organised and AI-assisted fraud has two practical consequences. First, ghost broking, where fraudsters sell fake or invalid policies while posing as legitimate intermediaries, remains a direct threat to brokers’ reputations. Customers need reminding to check that any broker they deal with is FCA-authorised.
Second, as insurers link data sources more closely, inaccurate disclosure is more likely to be caught. Brokers should make sure clients understand that previous claims, convictions and material facts must be disclosed accurately. Insurers can now see far more of a customer’s history than before.
