According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) fraudulent claims in the UK hit an all time high last year with 122,000 bogus claims being detected worth an estimated £840 million.

The figures reveal a 14% increase in the number of rogue insurance claims being made when compared to the previous year. However the ABI were keen to point out that the increase could be due to better detection methods for uncovering dodgy claims, and not that more claims are being made.

Motor insurance fraud had the highest value with the amount of bogus claims detected estimating to cost £410 million. The area of insurance where the most fraudulent insurance claims were found was in home insurance with 62,000 cases of exaggerated claims were uncovered.

There was also a notable rise in the number of dishonest personal liability claims which were being made in 2009.

One example of a fraudulent personal injury claim which was uncovered was that of a young woman who was attempting to sue after claiming to have fallen over a loose pavement stone. An investigation revealed that in fact, the woman had sustained her injury after jumping down a flight of stairs while trying to flee from a security guard who was pursuing her on suspicion of shoplifting.

Insurance companies are working hard to clamp down on the number of unlawful claims being made as each bogus claim has a knock-on effect on honest policyholders who are then hit by higher premiums as a result.