Research by insurance firm Axa shows nearly 10% of Britons exaggerate their insurance claims by an average of £600 which is leading to higher premiums for everyone else. Apparently the number of fraudulent claims has increased over recent years as many households battle with higher living costs and fewer wage increases. While some of those committing this type of fraud may justify it as being a victimless crime, the truth is it is anything but, and it can add an average of £13 annually to the cost of a home insurance policy.

The insurance industry is trying to introduce new measures to decrease the amount of fraud that occurs, and is warning those thinking of making fraudulent claims that they face the risk of having their whole claim denied and they may find it difficult to get insurance in the future. Axa's study showed that 9% of people who had put in a claim over the past five years had exaggerated its value, up from 7% when a similar study was carried out last year. A lot of these exaggerated claims worth related to televisions, and there was a notable rise in claims just before major sporting events.

Other claims related to jewellery which never existed, or claims that designer goods had been stolen when in fact they were only fakes. Other common claims related to the exaggerated worth of freezer contents where apparently the freezers were full of luxury goods such as lobster and steak rather than more mundane items like chips and frozen peas. Apparently men are more dishonest than women as their survey found they were twice as likely to exaggerate and items worth. An incredible 43% thought that damaging an item to make a claim wasn't dishonest.