At the heart of our approach to fighting fraud is a simple belief: we’re brilliant, together. Brokers play a vital role in early detection of fraud, informed prevention, and swift resolution. We never underestimate the value of your insight.
Together - by sharing intelligence, aligning processes, and building trust – we’re confident we can stay one step ahead of fraudsters.
Report potential fraud
If you believe fraud is being committed and it affects Ageas, please contact the Ageas Fraud Cheatline on 0345 168 5674, by email intel@ageas.co.uk or by our online form.
If it’s a general suspicion and doesn’t affect Ageas, please contact the Insurance Fraud Bureau Cheatline on 0800 422 0421 or visit the Insurance Fraud Bureau website.
Support your customers
Customers’ identities and personal data have a value. Criminals can use them to open bank accounts and get credit cards, loans, state benefits and documents such as passports and driving licences in the customers’ name. For customers, this may mean long-term difficulty getting loans, credit cards or even a mortgage – but the stress and inconvenience involved is immediate and can be devastating.
If a customer suspects identity theft, please advise them to contact CIFAS. It’s the UK's Fraud Prevention Service. Visit the website at www.identityfraud.org.uk.
You can also find out more information at:
Action Fraud www.actionfraud.police.uk www.cifas.org.uk
Crime Stoppers www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) www.insurancefraudbureau.org
Citizens advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Financial conduct authority (FCA) www.fca.org.uk
What is insurance fraud?
Essentially, insurance fraud is a deliberate act to deceive people. It can take many forms – such as providing false information or documents, or deliberately trying to make a financial gain by withholding or failing to provide information.
Financial crime is a huge challenge for the UK, especially in the insurance sector. The Association of British Insurers estimates that fraudulent and inflated insurance claims are still costing our industry more than £2.1 billion a year. As a result, honest policyholders may be paying £50 more than they need to in premiums
Take a look at the examples below to find out what we treat as fraud. These are some typical examples, they’re not an exhaustive list:
We’ll treat something as fraud when a policyholder deliberately conceals details from us such as:
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Previous motoring convictions on motor related policies
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Previous criminal convictions when asked about them on any policy
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Claims made under any policy when asked about them
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Actions by insurers to cancel or void a policy
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The true address for the person taking insurance cover
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Claim for items that have been claimed for previously
Or they give us false details about:
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What the vehicle is used for
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The value of items to be insured
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The main user of a car. An example may be when a policy is taken out by a parent who has no intention of driving the car regularly and has put the true main driver as a secondary named driver on the policy
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The number of years’ No Claims Bonus entitlement
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Personal information, such as the date of birth or occupation of any of the drivers named on the policy
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The validity of the driving licence or the length of time it has been held for
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Number of bedrooms declared
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If the items claimed for was in working order at the time of policy inception
We all need to be vigilant – there are several different types of fraud:
Organised Fraud: refers to fraudulent activities carried out by groups or networks of individuals who collaborate to commit large-scale, sophisticated scams.
Ghost broking: where scammers, known as ghost brokers, sell fake or invalid insurance policies to unsuspecting customers. Many ask for the full payment in cash from the customers and then only pay the 1st instalment to the insurer, quite often using a stolen or compromised card. The policy is then cancelled with the insurer by the ghost broker without informing the customer and retaining the remainder of the premium. These offers seem too good to miss, attracting customers looking for cheaper insurance rates. Ghost broking can have serious consequences, including driving without valid insurance, which can lead to legal issues and financial loss.
Application Fraud: is the act of deliberately providing incorrect information to gain a cheaper premium.
Opportunistic Fraud: occurs when a policyholder exaggerates a legitimate claim to receive a higher payout.
Claims Fraud: is exaggerating or fabricating an accident or damage to receive a payout.
How does Ageas help detect and prevent fraud?
We check external fraud prevention agencies, databases and may undertake credit searches at:
- Application stage
- Shortly after the policy start date
- At the time of any policy change
- At renewal
- When a claim is made
- Throughout the claim process
We may ask for, among other things:
- A vehicle registration certificate (known as the V5C)
- A valuation for specified items
- Driving licence for each driver named on the policy
- Proof of residency at an address
- Proof of ownership of any item to be insured
- Proof of your No Claims bonus
If we discover fraud, we can declare the policy void from the time the fraudulent act took place. This means we’ll treat the policy as never having been in force and this may result in the customer not being covered in the event of a claim.
Ageas takes insurance fraud seriously. We take firm action to identify and where possible prosecute individuals who commit fraud against us and our customers.
For fraud prevention purposes, we share our data with the wider financial services industry, such as banks and building societies. This could make it more expensive for fraudsters to buy insurance in the future, and they may find it difficult to get a mortgage or bank loan for example.
How Does Ageas use data to help detect fraud?
To protect the interests of our policyholders and to prevent and detect fraud, we may at any time:
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Share information about you or the customers with the police, other insurance companies and government agencies such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
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Check and file details with fraud prevention agencies and databases
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Undertake credit searches and other searches to verify details
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For further information on how we might use the data, please visit www.ageas.co.uk/privacy-policies
If false or inaccurate information and fraud is identified, then details will be passed on to fraud prevention agencies and databases to prevent fraud and money laundering. The police and other law enforcement agencies may then access and use this information.
How does Ageas help to prevent fraud?
We and other organisations may also access and use this information to help prevent fraud and money laundering, for example, when we:
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Check details on applications for credit and credit-related accounts or other facilities
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Manage credit and credit-related accounts or other facilities
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Recover debt
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Check details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance
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Check details of job applicants and employees
We’re committed to keeping premiums as low as we can by using tools and dedicated fraud resources. To help us to do this we:
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Have teams of fraud specialists to help protect you against insurance fraud now and in the future
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Carry out regular training to help support our employees with detecting and preventing fraud
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Use the latest technology to detect fraud
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Prosecute fraudsters
We also:
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Look at every insurance application to detect and prevent fraudsters getting cover in the first place
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Check proof of No Claims Discount
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Examine policy changes to recognise suspicious policy activity or mid-term fraud
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Share information about policyholders and claimants with other organisations and public bodies, including the police, to detect and disrupt fraudulent activity
We and other organisations may also access and use information recorded by fraud prevention agencies in other countries.
If a claim made under any Ageas policy is fraudulent in any respect, then all benefits under the policy may be forfeited.
If you’d like details of the relevant fraud prevention agencies and databases we access or contribute to, then please contact us by:
Post:
Data Protection Team
Ageas House
Hampshire Corporate Park
Templars Way
Eastleigh
SO53 3YA
Email: thedpo@ageas.co.uk