The report, now in its 16th edition, provides a comprehensive overview of insurance-related crime identified by insurers operating on the Polish market. It covers both completed and attempted fraud related to claims and, increasingly, offenses committed at the policy underwriting stage.
Fraud increasingly starts before a claim occurs
While traditional claims fraud remains a significant issue, PIU points to the growing importance of fraud committed when insurance contracts are taken out.
Fraudsters are increasingly using stolen personal data, impersonating real individuals or creating so-called synthetic identities that combine genuine and fabricated information. Such schemes may be used to obtain commissions or insurance benefits fraudulently.
According to PIU, the personal information used in these schemes often comes from data breaches and identity theft or is collected specifically for fraudulent purposes. As a result, fraud related to policy issuance is becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect.
Insurance fraud enters a new digital phase
PIU warns that insurance fraud has entered a new digital phase, supported by the rapid development of remote sales channels, online comparison platforms, messaging applications, social media and modern payment methods.
The widespread availability of artificial intelligence tools creates an additional challenge. Activities that only a few years ago required specialist knowledge – such as producing convincing fake documentation or other fabricated materials – have become much easier and cheaper.
“The Internet today provides not only information, but also ready-made scenarios for fraud. The development of AI tools means that preparing fake documents or using someone else's identity is easier than ever before. This is why insurers are developing their fraud detection technologies just as rapidly,” said Piotr Raubo, Chairman of PIU's Insurance Crime Prevention Committee and Director of the Fraud Prevention Office at TUiR Warta.
Life insurance fraud value up 31%
The value of fraud detected in life insurance increased by 31% year-on-year in 2025, continuing the upward trend seen in recent years. According to PIU, the increase also reflects insurers' improved ability to detect fraudulent activity through data analytics and greater information exchange across the industry.
Polish life insurers paid approximately PLN 17.5 billion in benefits in 2025, while detected fraud represented 0.58% of this amount.
More than half of the value of detected life insurance fraud – around PLN 55 million – involved cases related to the death of the insured. Fraud involving death benefits has long ranked among the most serious types of crime affecting the life insurance segment.
Motor accounts for 64% of non-life fraud
In non-life insurance, the value of detected fraud increased by 17% compared with 2024. Motor insurance remained by far the largest area of fraudulent activity, accounting for approximately 64% of both the number and value of all detected fraud cases in the segment.
Non-life insurers paid more than PLN 36 billion in claims in 2025, while the value of detected fraud represented 1.92% of this amount.
Agricultural insurance also remains exposed to significant fraudulent activity. Insurers detected more than 900 fraud cases involving agricultural insurance in 2025, with a combined value exceeding PLN 21 million. The cases mainly involved crop, livestock and agricultural machinery claims.
PIU noted that large cultivated areas and extensive livestock operations may provide opportunities to stage or inflate costly losses, making agricultural insurance particularly vulnerable to fraud attempts.
In addition, insurers detected 272 fraud cases involving compulsory farmers' third-party liability insurance, with a total value exceeding PLN 11 million.
While the largest number of insurance fraud cases continues to occur in non-life business, particularly motor insurance, PIU data show that life insurance recorded the fastest increase in the value of detected fraudulent activity in 2025.
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