Zurich, which claims to be the UK's leading provider of boat insurance, recently published statistics which show that there has been an increase in maritime insurance fraud .
The insurer said that it has recorded a threefold increase in the number of falsified claims in recent months. In addition, the total claimed by fraudulent claimants in the first four months of this year has exceeded the total for the whole of 2008.
James Roberts, head of Navigators and General at Zurich, explained that the increase could be due to the rising financial pressure on boat owners as a result of the recession . One customer who claimed for a stolen boat was later found overseas enjoying a break on the missing craft.
Mr Roberts said: "We have a very experienced team of claims professionals who work with our fraud investigation team to ensure that these claims are easily separated from those made by honest claimants."




