Insurers are being hit with more than 2,000 false claims a week as the recession has sparked a big jump in fraud, according to new figures published on Thursday.

Some 107,000 claims worth a total of £730m were found to be false last year, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on Thursday. This was an increase of 17 per cent in numbers and 30 per cent in value on the previous year.

As this is just the number of claims that the ABI has actually discovered to be false, insurers expect the real cost of fraud to be much higher.

The ABI’s director of general insurance and health, Nick Starling, said: “Fraud thrives in a recession, so insurers are intensifying their crackdown on insurance cheats.”

Home and motor insurance fraud account for the vast majority of cases. Insurers identified over 55,000 false or exaggerated home insurance claims last year, worth £110m. They also detected more than 35,000 motor insurance claims worth £360m.

In some motor insurance cases, policyholders have set fire to their car and claimed it had been stolen, often to cover hire purchase agreements. The ABI highlighted a claim which involved an owner who reported his car stolen from a car park. Later, he admitted he had pushed the car over the cliff and planned to use the insurance payout to pay off his debts, the ABI said.

Other fraudulent cases last year included a claim of replacing a lounge suite following accidental spillage of paint which was rejected when forensic tests showed that the paint had been deliberately applied.

Of the remaining cases, there were 9,800 fraudulent commercial insurance claims, with a total value of £240m; 4,300 were made on travel insurance policies, to a value of £5m; and 2,500 were made on creditor insurance plans, worth £19m.

Mr Starling says: ”Fraud adds an extra £40 a year to the average premium, which is why the harder we make it for the cheats, the more competitive premiums will be for honest customers.

”Cheating on your insurance really does not pay – you will get caught, future insurance will be more expensive and, along with credit, harder to obtain.”

Separate research commissioned by the ABI found that one in five people would consider making a fraudulent insurance claim in the future, despite the threat of a criminal conviction or being unable to secure insurance subsequently.

It echoed research last week by moneysupermarket.com, which found that 36 per cent of drivers would lie and make a fraudulent car insurance claim.