4.3 million people with home insurance are willing to consider making a false claim on their home insurance, according to research from MoneySupermarket.com.

1.5 million (4%) admit they’d consider making a false claim – or had already done so – regardless of the economic climate.

Peter Harrison, insurance spokesperson at MoneySupermarket, said: “It’s extremely concerning to discover so many people are contemplating making a false or exaggerated claim on their home insurance. With recent news the UK has slipped into a double-dip recession, household finances will undoubtedly be stretched, but no matter how tempting, fabricating a claim for a payout is illegal, and you could face being prosecuted as a result.

“Perhaps people feel their dishonesty only impacts the insurer but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Insurance fraud increases the cost of premiums for honest consumers as insurers look to re-coup the money paid out on false claims. There is also the risk of someone with a conviction for insurance fraud being unable to get insurance cover in the future.

“For a homeowner, being declined buildings insurance would go against the terms of your mortgage, and for a driver, not having valid car insurance would leave them unable to take to the road as it’s illegal to drive without valid insurance. The repercussions of making a fraudulent insurance claim are severe and I urge consumer not to take the risk.”

People in the North East (15%) and North West (14%) were most likely to make a false claim. However, residents in the South East were the least likely to make a claim, with only 8% stating they’d be prepared to do so.

Men are more likely to make a fraudulent claim (14%) compared to females (8%). Those under the age of 35 are more likely to act dishonestly, with 21% making, or likely to make, a false claim compared to just 10% of over 45s.