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• Zurich analysis of insurance claims has found that AI is behind 20% of fake claims
• A complex pattern of seemingly unrelated false claims are believed to be coordinated by AI
• Generative AI has been employed by organized crime rings to create fake evidence for non-existent incidents

AI has been driving a worrying rise insurance fraud, new analysis by insurance giant Zurich and AI analytics experts at Quantexa has claimed, with complex, organized crime rings have employed generative AI to make to fabricate supporting evidence in 1 in every 5 fake claims.

Scams as diverse as crash for cash and serial claimants were intelligently analyzed with repeated elements flagged for investigation. AI’s use as both a generative tool for fakery and as a tool to detect patterns and highlight criminality demonstrates how the technology is taking criminality and detection into a new era.

The analysis has so far led to £17.9 million in fake claims detected, a small number when compared to the £1.34 billion of fraudulent claims made in 2025.

Fighting fraud

Incredible volumes of fraudulent insurance claims have been detected over the past 12 months. Zurich UK found £109.3 million in total of faked claims, with £17.9 million of that identified using advanced analytics and AI. Some 4,359 fraudulent claims were uncovered, in motor, property, and casualty insurance portfolios. Claims identified as fraudulent increased 22% from 2022’s figure of 3,562 claims to 4,359 in the past 12 months.

“Insurance fraud in the UK is becoming more sophisticated, more organized and increasingly technology-enabled,” noted Scott Clayton, Head of Claims Fraud at Zurich UK and Chair of IFB. “Criminal networks are constantly adapting their tactics, whether that’s staged accidents, ghost broking, fabricated claims or the use of AI-generated evidence.

Explaining how AI has helped combat the £109.3 million of fraud uncovered in 2026, he added “Connected data is transforming the fight against fraud, helping us expose hidden relationships, identify organized networks and protect honest customers from footing the bill for criminal activity.”

This appears to be an industry-leading combination of advanced analytics and human judgement by specialist investigators to tackle what is considered a rapidly evolving threat.

Clayton says that Zurich is the first insurance company in the UK to unify data from “Companies House, Equifax, industry intelligence and the Insurance Fraud Register to give us a much richer picture across every claim. That helps us identify crucial connections and information that might otherwise be difficult to spot.”

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