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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 Gov [3D [K Government Departments to address fraud in the car insurance industry. She [K specifically requests conversations between Ministers to tackle unethical p [1D [K practices within the legal profession and regulate tech companies hosting f [1D [K 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 t [1D [K the prevalence of insurance fraud, particularly paid ad spoofing and ghost [K broking. She cited an example where a constituent was misled by scammers wh [2D [K who collected personal information and billed excessive fees after a road t [1D [K traffic accident. The Member noted that qualified solicitors are involved i [1D [K in these scams under no win, no fee arrangements, raising ethical concerns. [9D [K concerns. Additionally, she highlighted the rise of ghost broking, which in [2D [K involves selling fake insurance policies via social media, leaving victims [K 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 [K insurance fraud, which undermines confidence in the market and drives up co [2D [K costs for honest motorists. She noted that between 2019 and 2024, the cost [K of claims involving uninsured drivers increased by a huge 37%. The Governme [8D [K Government are considering strengthening penalties for uninsured driving of [2D [K offences due to their seriousness. To address fraud, £31 million is being i [1D [K invested in an online crime centre to identify and disrupt fraudulent websi [5D [K websites and advertising networks. A new partnership between the Home Offic [5D [K Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and industry was launched [K to strengthen transparency standards across programmatic ecosystems, enabli [6D [K enabling identification of bad actors. The FCA is investigating ghost broki [5D [K broking, which has reportedly increased by 50% over two years. The Online S [1D [K Safety Act 2023 places duties on social media platforms to tackle fraudulen [9D [K fraudulent adverts with potential fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qual [4D [K 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.