The Insurance Council of New Zealand has launched an Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) which it says brings all Council members together to combat insurance fraud.

The IFB will cover over 95% of New Zealand's general insurance sector. Its primary purpose will be to educate New Zealanders about insurance fraud and provide a central point of contact for all insurance fraud issues.

it will also gather data about the prevalence, cost and patterns of insurance fraud in New Zealand.

Council chief executive Tim Grafton says there is no solid data on New Zealand's levels of insurance fraud, but an estimate based on international figures would put the annual cost at approximately $614 million.

He says that through the IFB’s efforts, he would hope to see insurance fraud reduced by 10% within 12 months.

The IFB has its own website and has also released a white paper on insurance fraud.