The gloves are off

The Serious Crime Act has provided the means for the public and private sectors to share information, but how will this new piece of legislation help the insurance industry fight opportunistic fraud? Sarah Hills reports on how the sector is determined to harden its approach to fraud prevention

The insurance industry has always suffered from a poor public image - and that is putting it kindly. The idea that companies expect, and even deserve, to be defrauded is all too common among Joe Public, but when an industry is losing £1.6bn every year due to fraud, it does not take a rocket scientist to recognise that something needs to be done.

If fraud prevention is not at the top of the agenda for the insurance industry, then it should be. It seems that it is certainly on the government's