Fraudulent claims - Onus on us all to stamp this out

With the slowdown in the economy one might expect the rate of insurance claims to go down.

The cost of insurance should also go down because the value of property has been declining, and the cost of cars, especially the more expensive cars, are also likely to drop.

Instead, however, insurance costs are more likely to go up. Figures released by the Central Statistics Office last week indicate that arson offences rose by almost 50% in the first quarter of 2009 over the same period last year. This is an alarming development, but hardly a surprise to insurance companies.