Three-quarters of a million Brits commit travel insurance fraud
As many as three-quarters of a million Brits are making false travel insurance claims, with many failing to realise that they are committing fraud by doing so, according to research from Direct Line Travel Insurance.Research found that many travellers exaggerate or falsify their claims - 11 per cent confessed to increasing the value of their claim and five per cent admitted they added extra items. While falsifying or exaggerating an insurance claim may seem like a harmless 'white lie', travel insurance fraud is a crime.Some 18 per cent of those questioned tried to justify their behaviour by saying they are owed the money because they had not claimed before and ten per cent taking the attitude that it was okay, because everyone does it. Eighteen to 29 year-olds were by far the worst offenders with 33 per cent admitting to lying, compared with just seven per cent of over 50s.Chris Price, business manager at Direct Line Travel Insurance said: "As a leading insurer we deal with thousands of travel claims a year, the majority of which are genuine. "However, it's worrying to see from the results of the research that some consumers appear to underestimate the consequences of their actions. "The telling of a 'little white lie' is fraud however they chose to justify it."Contemplating committing fraud is a serious matter and we would urge anyone about to claim on their travel insurance not to take this lightly."
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