Unpacking views on fraud in insurance: Aviva & Nanos Research

Toronto, ON (Mar. 9, 2026) – Canadians are concerned about fraud in the insurance industry, from the threat on a personal level to the industry-wide costs resulting from staged collisions, inflated claims, and more, according to the results of a new survey commissioned by Aviva and conducted by Nanos Research.

Nationally, more than one-third of respondents (37.8 percent) ranked ‘Cyber crime/online scams/identity theft‘ as the most concerning risk influencing insurance; it was followed by ‘Auto theft‘ at 15.7 percent, ‘Home invasions‘ at 12.1 percent, and ‘Flooding‘ at 10.6 percent. No other risk was ranked first by more than six percent of respondents.

For 3.7 percent of respondents, ‘Insurance Fraud‘ was the most concerning risk influencing insurance, with clear regional and demographic variations. In BC, fraud was ranked highest by respondents, 4.8 percent of whom selected it as the most concerning risk. Meanwhile, just 0.6 percent of respondents in Atlantic Canada ranked insurance fraud as their top concern. Ontario (4.4 percent), Quebec (4.0 percent) and the Prairies (2.4 percent) fell in between.

In the context of ranking risks by concern over their influence on insurance, younger Canadians appear to be more worried about insurance fraud than seniors, with 6.4 percent of respondents aged 25-34 choosing fraud as their top concern, compared to 3.0 percent of those over 55.

However, when it comes specifically to fear about ‘being the victim of fraud,’ nearly half (45.2 percent) of those over 55 were worried (rating their concern at least 7 out of 10), versus 39.6 percent of those aged 35-54 and 37.9 percent of those aged 25-34.

Fear, Fraud and Premiums: Canada’s Hidden Premium Pressure

The survey uncovered Canadians’ concerns over insurance fraud in greater detail, finding:

• Significant concern about cost impacts: Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) agree they are concerned about the cost of fraud in the insurance system because it affects their premiums.
• Punishments seen as too weak: A large plurality (43%) believe current penalties for committing insurance fraud are not strong enough, while only 16% feel punishments are adequate.
• Fraud is a real worry: More than 2 in 5 Canadians (42%) outright say they are worried about becoming a victim of fraud, while only 19% are not worried.
• Top perceived fraud threats: The most commonly ranked personal fraud threats include deliberate staged vehicle collisions (14%), vehicle-repair–related fraud (12%), and unlicensed individuals posing as insurance brokers (8%).

Asked to rank the top fraud threats to them personally, respondents highlighted collisions and repairs as their top concerns

• Deliberate vehicle collisions staged for fraud purposes: 13.8% (also selected as the number-two threat by a further 12.5% and as the number-three threat by 11.0%)
• Vehicle repair related fraud: 11.7% (also selected as the number-two threat by a further 17.1% and as the number-three threat by 13.3%)
• Unlicensed individuals posing as insurance brokers: 7.8%
• Roofing or home repair fraud: 7.2%
• Deliberately inflating cost of contents/belongings: 6.5% (also selected as the number-three threat by a further 10.8%)
• Re-VINing of stolen vehicles fraud: 5.7% (also selected as the number-two threat by a further 10.1%)
• False insurance details fraud for cheaper premiums: 5.2%
• Fake insurance/pink slip fraud: 4.7%
• Health/rehabilitation fraud: 3.8%
• Tow truck fraud: 3.5%

Survey Methodology

The research gauged the opinions among Canadians on their views towards fraud insurance.

Nanos conducted an online non-probability representative survey of 1,569 Canadians, 25 years of age or older, between January 23rd and January 27th, 2026.

Although no margin of error applies, for comparison purposes, a probability sample of 1,569 would have a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The statistical tabulations including the unweighted and weighted number of interviews can be accessed here.

The research was commissioned by Aviva and was conducted by Nanos Research.

To view the full report, click here.

About Aviva Canada

Aviva Canada is one of the leading property and casualty insurance groups in the country, providing home, automobile, lifestyle, and business insurance to 2.5 million customers coast to coast. A subsidiary of UK-based Aviva plc, we have the financial strength, scale and are a trusted insurance provider globally for more than 325 years. For more information, visit aviva.ca.

About Nanos Research

As one of North America’s premier market and public opinion research firms, we put strategic intelligence into the hands of decision makers. The majority of our work is for private sector and public facing organizations and ranges from market studies, managing reputation through to leveraging data intelligence. Nanos Research offers a vertically integrated full service quantitative and qualitative research practice to attain the highest standards and the greatest control over the research process. For more information, visit nanos.co.

Source: Aviva Canada

Tags: Aviva, fraud, survey, top risks, vehicle theft