Insurance Fraud - Pet Scams

A rather disturbing article in The Telegraph states pet insurance fraud has increased sharply over the past year, with some people reaching new depths to get paid out at the expense of an innocent animal:

Owners killing their pets to get insurance payouts

Pet insurance fraud has almost quadrupled in the space of a year, with some owners even killing their animals to get payouts.

First it was spurious claims for whiplash and other injuries, then it was "crash for cash". Now a new type of fraud is affecting the insurance industry - pet scams
Dishonest claims on animal policies almost quadrupled last year, making it the fasting growing area of insurance crime.

Figures from the Association of British Insurers show there was £1,929,900 worth of pet insurance fraud detected last year – up from just £420,000 in 2009.

However, the true scale, is thought to be far higher and pushing up the average £220 premium. A total of 2.3 million cats and dogs were insured last year and virtually every type of animal can be covered.

The Association of British Insurers is arranging a shared database of information about insured animals to detect fraud.


To read the full story by Jasper Copping in The Telegraph click here