Aviva received almost 2,200 fraudulent commercial motor insurance policy applications last year

Insurer Aviva has revealed it received almost 2,200 fraudulent commercial motor insurance policy applications in 2015.

The firm, which is now screening all commercial motor insurance policies for fraud at the point of application, also identified over 11,000 instances of fraud in personal motor insurance applications last year.

The fraudulent claims ranged from misrepresenting claims history, convictions and addresses in order to access lower premiums to buying policies with the purpose of making bogus claims, said the insurer.

“When people think about motor insurance fraud, they are often convinced it’s a personal line issue,” said a spokesman for the company. “This obviously highlights that it’s not limited to personal lines - and we obviously want brokers to be aware of that.”