Aviva detects £233M in AI insurance fraud as scammers fake accident scenes and documents

UK fraudsters using AI to doctor 'evidence' in motor insurance claims

UK insurer Aviva is receiving tens of thousands of reports from scammers looking to profit from claims embellished using artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Aviva and its wider brand portfolio received an estimated 18,400 plus fraudulent claims in 2025, backed by doctored evidence includeding AI-generated car accident scenes, fake official documents, and fabricated images exaggerating damage. If approved, the sum of these claims would have amounted to £233 million ($310.3 million) across the year, or roughly £638,000 ($850,000) per day. The majority of claims cooked up using AI were related to motor insurance. The insurer says policyholders handed in supporting documents for claims such as inflated costs incurred for vehicle repairs and exaggerated reports of damage. Some claims were fraudulently made to appear more severe, whereas others were entirely fabricated. It marks a shift away from the older fraud model where policy-holders staged incidents such as a crash IRL in the hope of securing a payout. In total, Aviva said the value of scam claims made against motor insurance policies jumped 39 percent, with fraudsters increasingly seeking higher-value payouts. Similar trends were witnessed in liability insurance. While the number of cases remained broadly stable, the value of fraudulent claims rose 32 percent in 2025, with claimants exaggerating loss of earnings, rehab costs, and injury claims. "Professional enablers" - rogue white-collar workers, such as lawyers and medical professionals - are lending their support to the claims, says Aviva. These individuals are also playing a role in the increased value of travel insurance and medical claims for policy-holders. Aviva is countering the rise of AI-enabled fraudulent claims with... AI. It uses a concoction of its own tools and "advanced analytics," all with human oversight, to help identify suspicious claims faster. Pete Ward, head of claims counter fraud at Aviva, said: "Fraud isn't a victimless crime - it drives up the cost of insurance for everyone. We have a duty to ensure our customers don't foot the bill for other people's dishonesty, and we work tirelessly to root out fraud and stop it wherever we find it. "We're seeing fraud become more sophisticated, from exaggerated claims to the use of AI-generated documents, and we're continuing to invest in the tools and expertise needed to identify and stop it. "By detecting and preventing these claims, we're helping protect honest customers from the cost of fraud." ®

Aviva detects record £230m in bogus insurance claims as use of AI rises

Insurer found 18,400 suspect claims last year with some scammers using AI to fake accident scenes and documents Bogus insurance claims worth more than £230m were detected by the insurance firm Aviva last year as scammers tried new tricks including using artificial intelligence to fake car accident scenes, documents and to exaggerate damage. The insurer identified more than 18,400 suspect claims across its brands in 2025, with a combined value of £233m. The fraud claims level was a record for the insurer, although this was the first year that it included the Direct Line brands it acquired last summer. Pete Ward, the head of claims counter fraud at Aviva, said fraud "isn't a victimless crime - it drives up the cost of insurance for everyone". He added: "We're seeing fraud become more sophisticated, from exaggerated claims to the use of AI‑generated documents." Looking at Aviva's UK general insurance business only, excluding Direct Line brands, motor insurance fraud accounted for most bogus claims detected, representing more than seven in 10 cases. Fraudsters were moving away from staged collisions and towards exaggerated claims for vehicle damage, repair costs, credit hire and injury, often using wider cost pressures as justification, the insurer said. As a result, the value of motor fraud detected rose by 39%. The insurer also reported a growing number of claims supported by AI‑generated images and manipulated documents, particularly in motor insurance, with fraudsters using AI tools to fabricate accident scenes and damage imagery. In response, the company is using AI tools and advanced analytics, overseen by humans, to thwart suspicious claims faster. Aviva said that in total, 37 years of custodial and suspended sentences were secured in 2025 for the most serious fraud offences across the Aviva and Direct Line brands. In one incident, fraudsters deliberately caused a collision so they could make inflated injury and temporary replacement vehicle claims worth £470,000. Video evidence showed that none of the witnesses in court were present at the incident, resulting in two sisters being convicted of conspiracy to defraud, and one of them receiving an immediate prison sentence. The company also detected a rise in opportunistic fraud within genuine home and travel insurance claims. Fraud in home insurance among Aviva's brands rose by 15% in 2025, where customers exaggerated the value of damage, repairs or contents. Entire insurance claims are rejected once fraud is uncovered.