How much battering would your finances have to take before you would consider breaking the law? “I’d never do that!” you are no doubt crying. But according to a survey from Royal & Sun Alliance, 1.4 million of us consider insurance fraud more acceptable now than we did 12 months ago. Apparently that makes a total of almost 5 million of us that do not think making a false claim is wrong.

Typical examples of insurance fraud include failing to disclose motoring convictions or previous claims when applying for cover, or exaggerating claims by adding extra items to a genuine claim. More drastic examples include people hiding their valuables and staging a burglary in an attempt to claim thousands on their insurance policies, or dropping their old television down the stairs so they can claim for a new flat-screen model.

There are signs that people are not just considering fraud, but are going through with it. Fraudulent travel claims were up 80% by the end of last summer, according to the Association of British Insurance.

Holidaymakers were pretending that expensive cameras and iPods had been stolen, or were upping the value of what had been stolen in the case of genuine theft. Other travellers who suddenly realise the holiday they booked in more buoyant times is going to be unaffordable have been cancelling trips, feigning illness and then conning doctors into providing them with medical certificates to verify their “illness”.

It may sound like a victimless crime, but some of the insurance fraud being committed is actually dangerous – “crash for cash” accidents staged by motorists planning to claim on their car cover are apparently putting other drivers at risk. And before you jump to conclusions about who is behind these crimes, no it is not necessarily the “Shameless” demographic.

Richard Davies, the group fraud risk manager for Axa, told the Telegraph: “Often they are middle-class families who are looking for a way of getting extra money to help with the mortgage or to service other debts.”

Fraud costs the insurance industry an estimated £1.6bn every year. And where does this extra cost go? Yep, straight on to your insurance policy, adding £40 to the average annual household premium.

But would you consider trying to get one over on your insurer? Have you perhaps added an iPod you never owned to your genuine theft claim, an expensive camera to your stolen suitcase, perhaps? Or does the idea of this “middle-class theft” just appal you?