Handset insurance fraud set to surge

LSG said fraudulent claims now comprise between 15-20% of all mobile phone claims, rising sharply from just 5% in 2007. The company, which is owned by Phones 4u and supplies around 60% of the mobile phone insurance market, dealt with approximately 700,000 mobile phone claims last year. LSG claimed the rise in fraud was largely driven by increasing smartphone sales, which are also pushing up the average cost of mobile phone insurance claims by around 20%. Phones 4u recently said the rising cost of smartphone claims at LSG in 2011 had slowed the group’s growth.