Through studies conducted, we can see that there was an increase in fraud compared to 2020 when all the pandemic hype started.
These frauds were closely related to home insurance. The mandatory home confinement made people use more frequently the basic elements of the home such as: household appliances, glassware systems, common expenses of the condominium and from there the rise of frauds in the branch was born.
Claims usually arise from a real breakdown, which was not caused intentionally, but the costs are inflated in order to be able to charge a higher insurance premium. All the above are classic leakage breakdowns, burst pipes and other types of leaks, accounting for 44% of attempted fraud in the home insurance business.
Other problems induced were the simulation of electrical failures for the refrigerator, for example, reporting a power surge in the middle of a thunderstorm to claim a new computer, claiming a non-existent water leak in the floor to repair it, among others.
Miguel Ángel Álvarez, head of the fight against fraud at Unespa (Unión Española de Entidades Aseguradoras y Reaseguradoras), pointed out that having had to spend two months in our homes increases the likelihood of attempted home insurance fraud.
We can also highlight that fraud attempts for 2020 were for weather events, mainly in storm damage, which increased from 18% to 28% of false household claims.
On the other hand, despite the fact that the vehicle branch continues to be the one that registers the most frauds (as it is a service that every person who drives a car is obliged to have), it has experienced a notable decrease in Spain, going from 61% in 2013 to 41% in 2020.
Despite the confinement and mobility limitations that marked the past year, car-related claims continue to be the most frequent. The percentage of car-related insurance frauds last year stood at 47%.
It is known that 18% of claims contain an element of fraud.