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Car Insurance Industry: Fraud
22 April 2026
Lead MP
Helen Morgan
North Shropshire
Lib Dem
Responding Minister
Lucy Rigby
Tags
Crime & Law EnforcementCulture, Media & SportStandards & Ethics
Word Count: 7843
Other Contributors: 5
At a Glance
Helen Morgan raised concerns about car insurance industry: fraud in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key Requests to Government:
The MP asks for a coordinated response from multiple Government Departments to address fraud in the car insurance industry. She specifically requests conversations between Ministers to tackle unethical practices within the legal profession and regulate tech companies hosting fraudulent content online.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
The Member for North Shropshire is concerned about the prevalence of insurance fraud, particularly paid ad spoofing and ghost broking. She cited an example where a constituent was misled by scammers who collected personal information and billed excessive fees after a road traffic accident. The Member noted that qualified solicitors are involved in these scams under no win, no fee arrangements, raising ethical concerns. Additionally, she highlighted the rise of ghost broking, which involves selling fake insurance policies via social media, leaving victims with severe financial consequences.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Jim Shannon highlighted the pressures faced by const [5D [K constituents due to car insurance fraud, noting that it adds £50 per premiu [6D [K premium and is particularly severe in Northern Ireland. He cited 6,453 dete [4D [K detections of motor insurance offences, or nearly a fifth of all motoring o [1D [K offences, in 2025. He also mentioned that young drivers in Northern Ireland [7D [K Ireland face average premiums of £1,470 for third party cover and over £3,0 [4D [K £3,000 for fully comprehensive insurance.
Luke Charters
Lab
York Outer
He expressed concern about the use of AI in fabricat [8D [K fabricating insurance documents and highlighted that ghost broking is often [5D [K often a systematised attack by organised crime groups targeting vulnerable [K individuals. Luke provided statistics showing an increase in ghost broking, [8D [K broking, with over 50,000 motor insurance scams worth £500 million in total [5D [K total. He also mentioned the 'second wave' of identity theft after initial [K fraud.
Mark Garnier
Con
Wyre Forest
Mark Garnier highlighted the prevalence of fraud in [K car insurance, noting that it accounted for £576 million in fraudulent clai [4D [K claims in 2024. He emphasised the issue of paid ad spoofing and called for [K the regulation of accident management activities by the FCA to protect cons [4D [K consumers.
Peter Swallow
Lab
Bracknell
Draws attention to the issue of uninsured drivers co [2D [K costing the economy £1 billion a year and highlights their disproportionate [16D [K disproportionate involvement in collisions, speeding, and hit-and-run incid [5D [K incidents. Introduced a ten-minute rule Bill last year to increase penaltie [8D [K penalties for uninsured driving. Peter Swallow raised the issue of AI being used to g [1D [K generate fake insurance documents at the roadside, making it harder for pol [3D [K police to tackle uninsured driving. He encouraged Jim Shannon to elaborate [K on this matter.
Richard Foord
Lib Dem
Honiton and Sidmouth
Mr Richard Foord highlighted a constituent's case wh [2D [K where an insurance company declared the car to be a write-off unnecessarily [13D [K unnecessarily, leading to inflated repair costs. He raised concerns about p [1D [K potential financial incentives for insurers or contractors in declaring veh [3D [K vehicles as total losses and questioned if customers face premium increases [9D [K increases due to such claims.
Government Response
Lucy Rigby
Government Response
The Minister acknowledged the serious issue of car insurance fraud, which undermines confidence in the market and drives up costs for honest motorists. She noted that between 2019 and 2024, the cost of claims involving uninsured drivers increased by a huge 37%. The Government are considering strengthening penalties for uninsured driving offences due to their seriousness. To address fraud, £31 million is being invested in an online crime centre to identify and disrupt fraudulent websites and advertising networks. A new partnership between the Home Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and industry was launched to strengthen transparency standards across programmatic ecosystems, enabling identification of bad actors. The FCA is investigating ghost broking, which has reportedly increased by 50% over two years. The Online Safety Act 2023 places duties on social media platforms to tackle fraudulent adverts with potential fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.
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About Westminster Hall Debates
Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.