You hear it all the time — attitudes about fraud are changing. And while that may be true for some, a recent Insurance Research Council survey found that 18 percent of respondents believe it is acceptable to pad a claim to make up for premiums paid in the past. And according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), 10 percent of property and casualty claims are fraudulent. And it all comes down to this, liars lie. And as long as liars lie, there will be people who commit claims fraud.
No doubt you've heard these lies: existing damage was the result of a recent accident even though the damage occurred before the policy was active, a car was stolen even though it was recovered at a boyfriend's apartment, or the vehicle is driven for private use even though it has a ladder rack and company signage on the side. Or how about a severely injured person who can't work, out and about at the golf course? This list goes on even as liars get more creative in their fraud attempts.
Carriers employ SIU investigators to dig deeper to uncover fraud. Red flags call attention to suspected activity. Yet until now, there has been nothing revolutionary in fighting claims fraud. Vehicle location data is proving to be the missing link for many SIU investigations — linking suspected fraud to actual vehicle images and location data that help to prove fraud.
About that vehicle location data — where does it come from and how much data is there? DRN collects over 100 million sightings nationwide each month. Those sightings are added to over 4 billion nationwide detections to provide carriers with data to fuel their claims investigations. Using our SIU investigative platform, carriers perform license plate searches that provide vehicle sighting images and location data including sighting date and time, maps and GPS coordinates. They can search by plate or by address to find vehicles common to multiple locations for collusive fraud indicators. Tips and leads that are critical to investigation.
Back to those liars. Let's put vehicle location data to the test and look at suspected pre-existing damage. A claim is submitted for damage to the rear bumper of a vehicle. A quick license plate search (just log in and search, no IT integration required) shows several vehicle sightings prior to the accident date. And, those sightings show that the bumper has been damaged for months before the policy became effective. You just avoided paying a fraudulent claim.
Now imagine how that vehicle location data can be used to uncover other types of claims fraud. Carriers use Event Links to investigate:
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Auto theft and accident claims
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Claimant and witness alibis
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Workers' compensation claims
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Personal use of commercial vehicles
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Preexisting damage to a vehicle
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Collusive fraud
When you think about the tips and leads you get from vehicle location data to identify claims fraud, you can understand why carriers see this as revolutionary. This data is a game changer — the power of the vehicle sightings combined with the location data puts evidence in your hands and puts a stop to fraudulent claims payouts. Plus, it's available through ISO, so it's easy to get started. Find out how you can put the brakes on fraud. Contact Alex Young, DRN Vice President of Risk Solutions: 817-710-7717 or [email protected].
Alex Young is vice president of Risk Solutions and is responsible for developing the insurance market at DRN.
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