ITIC UK 2026 | Travel insurance fraud – prevention and identification

The ITIJ team are reporting from ITIC UK in Brighton this week (29–30 April 2026), sharing the discussions that take place at the conference. Read all reports.

Nicola Smith, Intelligence and Investigations Manager, Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB)

Smith began by showcasing a set of fraud statistics from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) for the year 2024, which were published last year.

She noted that UK insurers reported a 12% increase in fraudulent claims between 2023 and 2024, with the total cost of detected claims fraud being valued at around £1.16 billion.

However, Smith noted that the same ABI report found that when focusing on the travel insurance sector in particular, the total number of fraudulent claims detected increased by 97% between 2023 and 2024, to around 2,020 cases.

Additionally, the average size of each fraudulent claim was comparatively small for travel, at around £3,000 per claim, compared with around £13,000 across the entire insurance industry.

She warned that while the figure appeared impressive in isolation, the increase in detection was based on a relatively small base number, and it is likely that a lot of travel fraud continues to go unreported or undetected.

Smith also said that two key strategies used by fraudsters making bogus insurance claims were “synthetic identities” and deepfakes or artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content.

Synthetic identities are when a criminal combines “genuine and fictitious information” to create a new digital identity for a fraudulent insurance policy – a process that often involves techniques such as phishing and taking publicly available information from social media.

The advantage of synthetic identities is that, unlike a stolen identity, in which all information used is real, there is no real person who could flag fraudulent claims made in their name.

“No-one’s going to be flagging that so-and-so’s used my data,” she said.

By contrast, the use of AI allows criminals to generate large bodies of digital media – videos, audio, and images – to support their claims.

“This is probably the biggest threat to the entire industry,” she said, adding that the technology had “lowered the bar to entry to commit fraud”.

Finally, Smith reported that “digitisation has made fraud a borderless issue”, with over 70% of fraudulent claims reported in the UK originating from outside the country, or having an international element.

Gary Sommerford, Director/Fraud, Waste and Abuse Consultant, Larus Consulting

Sommerford focused on a range of common fraud types encountered in the travel insurance sector.

“Did you know that Britons lose more Louis Vuitton luggage than is actually sold in the UK?” he said, highlighting that “baggage claims are one of the most prevalent kinds of travel insurance fraud”.

In particular, those making claims might exaggerate contents, fabricate loss or damage, stage a theft, or make claims for pre-existing damage to their bags.

Alongside this, fraudulent claims for stolen or lost personal possessions are also common, including claims for “multiple or high-end goods”. Such claims are often accompanied by forged documentation and fraudulent valuations prior to travel.

“If something seems ridiculous or too good to be true with a claim, it probably requires investigating further,” he said.

Cancellation, curtailment, and missed departure claims are also common, often similarly accompanied by false documentation.

“It may involve misrepresenting facts, or a trip may never have been booked in the first place,” he noted.

In terms of medical claims, both fabricated illnesses and cosmetic surgery claims.

“A lot of the time this involves collusion with providers,” he warned, adding that, on occasion, providers would be the source of the fraudulent claim: “Some providers overcharge, some providers overservice. We have a real problem with remote clinics – it’s very difficult to check they exist, and that they have the facilities and speciality to provide the services that have been billed.”

A growing issue, Sommerford explained, are submissions from the owners of accommodation, trying to fraudulently claim for pre-existing damage to the property.

He explained: “Sometimes this is without the knowledge of the holidaymaker, but sometimes there is collusion.”

Sommerford highlighted that when it comes to fake or altered documentation, “it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine whether a document is false or has been amended” due to technology such as AI.

Simon Cook, Director of Investigation Services – International, Charles Taylor Group

Cook began by noting several current challenges facing insurers looking to tackle fraudulent claims. He highlighted that the UK’s Claims and Underwriting Exchange (CUE) – a nationwide database designed to support fraud investigations – currently did not carry data for travel insurance.

Beyond this, there is evidence that organised crime groups are increasingly targeting retail travel insurance policies; evidence of digital document manipulation and the use of AI-generated images in fraudulent claims; and some customers operating under the belief that if a claim is made for an incident that occurred overseas, it cannot be easily investigated.

Cook recommended that, to combat these challenges, insurers should invest heavily in a dedicated fraud investigation team, while also utilising trusted third-party investigators who understand the global fraud landscape. He emphasised that for overseas claims, a “boots on the ground” approach was far better than remote enquiries.

Additionally, firms should employ document analysis software where possible, as well as automated fraud detection software, solutions that he said were best deployed at the “enterprise level”.

Cook noted that the use of AI in fraud detection was shifting capabilities from older, reactive methods such as static rules and manual reviews, towards a more proactive approach, in which emerging fraud trends could be modelled and weak points identified before criminals had a chance to exploit them.

“AI can be that support mechanism that helps you manage those claims, and help you segregate those higher-risk claims where you’re likely to find fraud,” he said.

Cook warned that, in order to be truly effective, more work must be done in the early stages to dissuade potential fraudsters, such as sharing intelligence and training with frontline staff, and ensuring that more stringent controls are in place during the application process.

However, he concluded that, ultimately, “AI will only ever assist human investigators, not replace them”.