Broken televisions and lost mobile phones top the list of fraudulent claims made to an insurer.

Eastern Daily Press: Tom Gardiner, head of fraud at Aviva. Picture: Aviva.Tom Gardiner, head of fraud at Aviva. Picture: Aviva. (Image: Archant)

Norwich-based Aviva has revealed it caught more than £85m of false claims last year – the equivalent of £232,000 a day.

The insurer said there was a rise of 9.5% in the total number of fraudulent claims – which it put down to increased detection across motor bodily injury, household and liability claims.

Tom Gardiner, head of fraud at Aviva, said: 'As our figures show, the fight against fraud continues relentlessly.

'But there is some good news: our investment in detecting fraud across all lines of business is seeing some very good results: we are prosecuting more cases, and by moving the fight against fraud to the front door we are stopping fraudsters from accessing our products in the first place.

'We vigorously defend our customers against fraudulent claims, even where it is not economic to do so, and will prosecute those people making fraudulent claims wherever possible.

'Looking at our bodily injury fraud data, it is clear that there continues to be an urgent need for fundamental reform of how minor personal injuries are compensated.'

Aviva said whiplash still accounted for 59% of the total fraud it detected, up 4.8% in 2016.

In 2016, the insurer had 154 fraudulent whiplash claims struck out due to findings of fundamental dishonesty – meaning the claimant has to pay all of the costs of action.

Fraudulent household claims also grew by 30% over 2015, while the value of these claims grew by more than 50%, as fraudsters submitted bogus claims for more expensive household items.

Aviva said there was a growing trend in 'serial claimants' – fraudsters who make multiple claims, often for the same item, by purchasing dozens of home insurance policies using different aliases.

Expensive technology items topped the list of most popular fraudulent claims including accidental damage to televisions, mobile phones, laptops and jewellery.

Liability claims, against employers' or public liability, had the second highest frequency of fraud after whiplash. Aviva challenged and declined 6% of claims for fraud in 2016 and is investigating 1,000 suspect claims.