IFB set to expand reach

The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) will extend organised fraud detection into property and liability business lines from 2016, following sign-off on future strategy plans from the Association of British Insurers’ General Insurance Council (GIC).

The green light from the GIC will also see a ‘ground-breaking’, cross-industry intelligence sharing system commissioned, which will complement proven fraud data captured by the Insurance Fraud Register (IFR) to identify suspected fraud in policies and claims.

Ben Fletcher, director of the IFB, said, ‘Implementation of the IFB strategy marks a major step-change in the insurance industry’s fight against fraud. We know fraudsters aren’t ‘product loyal’, and having tightened our controls in fighting organised motor fraud, it is essential that we increase attention on other product lines simultaneously, to avoid simply shifting the problem of fraud elsewhere.’

Last month, the IFB announced a significant drop in ‘crash for cash’ fraud, with the value of organised scams reducing by almost £60 million in the last three years. That reduction has been attributed to a major crackdown by the IFB in partnership with insurers, regulators and law enforcements agencies, including the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

Following a widespread stakeholder consultation in 2014, the IFB’s future strategy (2015 – 2019) was launched. Developed by the industry, the IFB’s ‘2020 vision’ encompassed two primary strategic objectives:

1. To extend the IFB’s remit beyond organised motor fraud – to detect/disrupt cross-industry, systematic fraud in other product lines;

2. To build cross-industry intelligence sharing infrastructure – required to share vital fraud intelligence in an efficient and legally compliant manner.