Last year, insurance experts identified nearly 13,000 cases of fraud involving private individuals, up over 300 cases on 2017 and a new record, the insurance crime agency CBV said on Wednesday.

However, the total amount of the fraud – €82m – was around 20% down on 2017, the CBV said.

In one case highlighted by the agency, a woman claimed for damage to her expensive coat, bag and Louis Vuitton shoes when her scooter was involved in an accident with a car. The investigators moved in after she submitted a receipt for a new pair of men’s shoes.

In another case, investigators were alerted by the wrong date on a funeral card, sent in as evidence that an expensive holiday had been cancelled because of a death in the family.

Some 450 investigators look into potential fraud on a daily basis and most cases involve car, housing and personal liability insurance. Much of the work is automated on the basis of algorithms.

Evidence for fraud is found in almost 30% of the cases which are looked into.

The CBV also indentified 595 cases of company fraud often involving fake burglaries and even arson.