Insurance Fraud Is Everywhere
Insurance fraud is one of the most common types of fraud in the world, and your company has no doubt dealt with its fair share. Not only does this type of fraud increase the amount that your company must pay every year and cause cash flow issues, but it makes insurance more expensive for your customers. Having your angry customers leave and go to another company is something no one wants. This type of deception can be done by individuals, third-party claimants, professionals who serve claimants, and policyholders. It’s especially bad when it comes to situations where insured customers vandalize their own vehicle, stage the theft of their vehicle or deliberately cause a fire to their home. The NICB reports that insurance fraud costs companies over 80 billion dollars every year. Fraud, on average, costs families over $950 each year through increased premiums.
Some communities are more likely than others to have problems with insurance fraud. Staged accident fraud (in which an insured victim is placed into an accident) is the worst in Miami, and law enforcement in New York City say that perhaps as many as a third of auto insurance claims are fraudulent.
While these figures seem dire, there is some good news: insurers and policyholders have a common reason to reduce insurance fraud, and that is to save money. And everyone likes to save money.
Digital Evidence: How Can It Help?
For auto accidents and other damage to vehicles, the main thing that the involved parties must provide is a recorded statement about what occurred in the accident and proof of the damage to their vehicle. The proof can be provided by taking pictures of the damaged vehicle & submitting it or by an inspector going out and physically inspecting the vehicle and completing an estimate on the cost of the damage.
However, sometimes this is not sufficient to finalize liability and clear coverage and you may need additional evidence to prove your claim. Thankfully, we live in the digital age and it’s easier than ever to find the truth behind millions of insurance claims. Today, almost everyone has a cell phone or other mobile device that can take photos or record a real accident scene (or someone setting their own car on fire, for instance.) Many witnesses are more than happy to help uncover the crime of insurance fraud and drive their own costs down, so asking for videos and unbiased photographic evidence can make a difference. Dashcams are also very useful for recording accidents and providing evidence an insurance company needs to separate a fraudulent claim and a real one so long as you can clearly view the footage.
Homeowner’s insurance fraud can also be staged in some cases like that of auto insurance fraud. Damage can be purposely done to a customer’s home. Third parties who record this type of evidence have the ability to share it with Scene Finder anonymously. Other fraud can involve customers faking or purposely causing their own injuries, and an anonymous recorder can reveal the fraud without retaliation. The evidence-based content that Scene Finder provides will help insurance companies reduce their overall payouts on claims, and this in time will benefit both the company and the customer.
Conclusion
The solution is that evidence-based content will help fight insurance fraud because insurance carriers would have the proof they need to make accurate decisions on the claim.
An app such as Scene Finder can provide great value and rewards to insurance companies and others who want to fight this common fraud issue. This app allows anonymous users to record and photograph evidence-based content and upload it to Scene Finder’s platform for cash rewards. From there, insurance companies and others can access this content, reducing the number of fraudulent claims paid out every year. Be sure to contact us today to get started on your fight against insurance fraud.
