A new service enabling motor insurers to cross check vehicle credit hire periods and reduce claims leakage by identifying fraudulent arrangements has been launched by CRIF Decision Solutions Ltd, part of the CRIF Group. Insurers registering for the service prior to 1st December 2010 will benefit from a six months free trial.
The motor insurance industry spends £600M on vehicle credit hire every year and significant cost savings can be generated by accessing vehicle credit hire specific intelligence. Currently, ‘overlap days’ where two insurers are charged for the hire cost of the same replacement vehicle, typically at the end of one rental period and the beginning of another, add unwarranted additional days of hire and associated costs to insurers.
The service is available to all motor insurers and their delegated authority partners, requires no technology outlay and is swift and simple to use requiring only web browser internet access. Licences, allowing unlimited searches and with no restriction on user numbers per registered organisation, are available on an annual basis. Six monthly and quarterly licence options are also available.
Registered users sign in, input the credit hire vehicle registration number and the period of hire and the system searches for matches. Where a matching ‘overlap day’ is identified the user can contact the other insurer or the vehicle credit hire organisation directly and determine a course of corrective action. When no match is identified but a subsequent entry by another user highlights a later match, an alert is also automatically sent to the insurer with the earlier entry. The system is built to be self generative as users input data and will ultimately store historic data.
91% of ‘traditional’ motor fraud cases include an element of credit hire. LV= which has been working with CRIF to trial the service found numerous cases of overlapping. In addition, anomalies highlighted by CRIF’s vehicle credit hire intelligence alerted the insurer to undertake further investigation into four cases leading to the identification of organised claims fraud with a combined value of £80,000.
Roger Walsh, Associate Director, CRIF Decision Solutions Ltd comments: “The lack of cross industry intelligence and controls relating to vehicle credit hire make this area an attractive weak spot for fraudsters and vehicle credit hire fraud is consequently on the increase. Following consultation with insurers, the development and launch of this new service is set to close this intelligence gap, support fraud reduction efforts and decrease claims spend. The insurance industry is becoming ever more sophisticated in fraud detection and prevention measures and collaborative data sharing underpins many successfully deployed counter fraud strategies. The data stream generated by this initiative will enable us to provide further value add services to the industry and will also be made available to the Insurance Fraud Bureau to support the industry’s collective strategy on cross industry organised fraud.”
Source : CRIF Press Release
