Fraudulent claims for fire damage and break-ins are a cost of recession

I was woken up last week by a group of masked men breaking in to the shop across the road. Normally this would scare the life out of me but I felt pretty calm as it was the second time the same shop has been hit in the last six months. Over breakfast I started to bore my girlfriend by saying the increase in crime in the area could be due to the recession. I contemplated a blog on the subject but another possible theory has arisen. This article from the Daily Mail reports that insurers have seen a 20% increase in fire damage claims since the recession began. The Association of British Insurers say fraudulent claims often increase as companies try to free them from untenable running costs and money woes. This article could be used to start a lesson on some of the costs of a recession.