Dodgy insurance claims continue to rise on both sides of the Atlantic as tougher economic times in Europe and the US provide the incentive.

America’s National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) says questionable claims were up 14% last year, to 85,209.

The bureau says significant increases in staged auto accidents – where organised criminals are trying to collect for injuries – have been noted.

“Also, we have seen more questionable claims in the area of hail damage where unscrupulous roofing companies take advantage of storms to fake or deliberately cause damage to roofs in an effort to get insurers to pay for a replacement roof that wasn’t damaged in the first place,” NICB CEO Joe Wehrle said.

In the UK, the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (CIFAS) reports false insurance claims rose 55% last year, driven by the recession.

It says the surge has been driven more by claims for staged or completely fictitious events than inflated claims for damage and losses actually incurred.

“While insurance fraud has long been difficult to prove – for instance, adding to claims for stolen cars or laptops and other items such as MP3 players, mobile phones, cameras and wallets – the 55% increase in cases filed by CIFAS members during 2009 reveals a trend towards claimants being even more dishonest.”