PEIA Member Exclusive: IFB Pet Insurance Fraud Awareness Session

PEIA Member Exclusive: IFB Pet Insurance Fraud Awareness Session

Webinar summary | 23 June 2026

PEIA was delighted to host the Insurance Fraud Bureau for a dedicated member session on pet insurance fraud, following the IFB’s recent publication of its Pet Insurance Fraud Awareness Guide and the inclusion of pet fraud as a prominent area within its latest Strategic Threat Assessment.

The session was led by Jon Radford and Jonathan Duffy from the IFB and built on the strong discussion held at the PEIA April Members’ Forum. It was clear from the level of attendance and engagement that fraud is now a priority issue for the pet insurance sector.

Why this matters

The IFB set the scene by explaining the wider insurance fraud landscape. Fraud continues to rise across the UK insurance market, with the ABI’s 2024 figures showing 98,000 detected fraudulent claims, valued at £1.16 billion, alongside 684,000 fraudulent insurance applications. The IFB also highlighted that fraud now represents a significant proportion of reported crime in the UK.

For the pet insurance sector specifically, the figures are increasingly important. In 2024, pet insurers detected 13,823 fraudulent claims, with the total value of detected pet claims fraud reaching £13 million, up significantly on the previous year. The average detected pet fraud claim was around £1,000. The IFB did note that some of the increase is likely to reflect greater reporting and more market participants contributing data, but the direction of travel is clear.

The role of the IFB and the Pet Fraud Working Group

The IFB explained its role as a not-for-profit organisation leading the collective fight against insurance fraud and acting as an industry data hub for fraud intelligence and analytics. Since 2006, IFB investigations have contributed to more than 1,300 arrests, over 700 convictions, and more than 630 custodial years in prison.

The session also covered the work of the IFB Pet Fraud Working Group, which was established in Q1 2025 and initially involved seven pet insurers. The group has focused on defining what pet insurance fraud looks like, sharing intelligence on current suspect cases, and supporting cross-insurer investigations.

Encouragingly, intelligence shared through the group has already led to three IFB operations being opened, with one now being investigated by IFED. The IFB has also joined PEIA as an honorary member and is exploring future access to Cache Pet data with CRIF to support more proactive fraud detection.

The Pet Insurance Fraud Awareness Guide

A key part of the session focused on the IFB’s new Pet Insurance Fraud Awareness Guide, which has been developed with input from members of the Pet Fraud Working Group. The guide is designed to create a shared market understanding of pet insurance fraud typologies, key fraud indicators and common claim and policy scenarios.

The guide uses established insurance industry fraud categories and definitions, helping the pet insurance market align with wider industry reporting and intelligence standards.

The main fraud types discussed included:

Pre-inception loss
This was identified as one of the most significant issues for the sector. It occurs where a pet owner takes out cover after an injury has occurred or a condition has materialised, then presents the loss as having happened after policy inception. Key indicators include inconsistencies between the policy start date, claim notification date and veterinary notes, as well as possible evidence that treatment was sought elsewhere before cover began.

Contrived incident and loss
This involves a wholly fictitious scenario where no incident or loss has occurred. In some cases, the pet may not even exist. These claims are often supported by false documents, amended invoices, forged certificates or vague and inconsistent versions of events.

Fabricated incident or circumstance
This is where a genuine loss has occurred, but the cause or circumstances are misrepresented. For example, a policyholder may try to present a long-standing illness as an injury in order to bring the claim within policy scope.

Exaggerated loss and layering
The IFB also discussed situations where genuine claims are inflated, either by the policyholder or potentially through professional enablers. Layering was highlighted as particularly challenging, as it may involve the addition of unmerited or contrived services within veterinary treatment or invoicing.

First-party risk misrepresentation
This includes deliberate or reckless misrepresentation at inception, amendment or renewal, such as non-disclosure of pre-existing conditions, breed information or other material risk details. Quote data can be valuable in identifying possible manipulation.

Refund and incentive fraud
This was highlighted as an emerging policy fraud issue, particularly where incentives, rewards or refund processes are exploited for financial gain. The IFB noted that organised networks may use similar details, mobile numbers, names, addresses or alternative bank accounts across multiple policies.

Strategic Threat Assessment

The IFB’s Strategic Threat Assessment brings together market insights, operational activity and data to provide a single industry view of insurance fraud threats. This year is particularly significant because, for the first time, the STA includes data-driven threat analysis specific to pet insurance.

The key pet insurance claims threats identified were:

1. Pre-inception loss — by far the highest-volume claims fraud threat, accounting for more than 90% of recorded pet claims fraud in 2025.
2. Contrived incident and loss — increasing and often linked to false identities and false documentation.
3. Fabricated incident or circumstance — still largely opportunistic, but rising in volume.

On the policy side, refund and incentive fraud was identified as the leading threat, with a significant spike in cases in 2025.

Emerging risks

The IFB also encouraged the market to look ahead. Technology, artificial intelligence, deepfakes and synthetic identities are all likely to create new challenges. The concern is not simply that fraudsters will use new tools, but that those tools may allow fraudulent claims or policy applications to be generated more quickly, more convincingly and at greater scale.

The session also touched on the wider social and economic pressures facing pet owners. Financial strain may contribute to some opportunistic fraud, particularly where owners are struggling to afford treatment or medication. However, the IFB was clear that opportunistic and organised fraud both need to be understood and addressed.

The importance of collaboration

One of the strongest messages from the session was that collaboration is essential. Fraudsters do not respect organisational boundaries, and isolated action by individual insurers will only go so far. The progress already made through the Pet Fraud Working Group shows what can be achieved when intelligence is shared responsibly and the market works together.

For PEIA, this session reinforced the importance of creating safe, constructive spaces for insurers, service providers and relevant stakeholders to discuss difficult issues openly. Fraud is not just a claims issue; it affects pricing, trust, affordability, customer outcomes and the long-term sustainability of pet insurance.

Next steps

Members are encouraged to review the IFB Pet Insurance Fraud Awareness Guide and consider how the typologies and key fraud indicators can be embedded into internal fraud strategies, claims handling processes and staff training.

PEIA will continue to work closely with the IFB and members to support further education, intelligence sharing and cross-sector collaboration. Members interested in contributing to future fraud discussions or working group activity should contact PEIA.