Working Towards a Better, More Efficient and Cost Effective Insurance Industry
Reflecting on our most recent case article, describing an employee’s attempts to outsmart his employer and their respective insurers into paying out on a fake back injury, and the fact that he is just one of the countless cases every year that cost honest policy holder more; we though to shed some light on how professional private investigation services can actually help minimize the risks associated with insurance fraud.
It’s incredibly disappointing, and quite honestly shocking to think that over $2 billion is paid out every – single – year to insurance fraudsters in Australia. That’s money that would ultimately be passed over to clients as savings if it weren’t for the cold, the heartless and the desperate, who lie, cheat and steal.
Insurance fraud is rife – it’s an issue that Australian insurance companies should be doing something about, or at least the State or Federal Governments, but the sad truth of the matter is the fact that resources are best spent trying to innovate new products, rather than minimizing threats. While this might not be the case across the board, it’s important to remember that while Insurers do look out for their clients, it is within their interests to pass their annual losses over to their customers in the form of price hikes on premiums.
While this might seem unfair, we need to bear in mind that many insurers stand the chance of going bankrupt if they simply absorbed the monies lost to fraud; so while it’s a nasty surprise to see your insurance premium going up, year after year, the best way forward for both the insurance companies in question and their clients is to actually to focus more on reducing the rate of fraud… the rate of successful fraud, that is.
How?
Well, the case we mentioned earlier – the one about the guy who faked his back injury, which you can read by clicking here – is a prime example of how incorporating private investigations into commercial and domestic insurance matters can result in major savings.
On the flip side, we often see cases where the Subject’s we’re observing are clearly injured or suffering from some form of ailment, whether physical, emotional or psychological, and it’s just as important, if not more so, that our investigators make that clear.
There are countless examples of cases throughout modern Australian history were innocent or genuine claimants lose out on benefits they deserve because of poor observations and associated analysis. It’s essential and goes without saying that you should employ people who don’t just know what they’re doing, but want to be there, and want to do it.
Undertaking hours upon hours of surveillance can take its toll on people; investigators who came into the game with the energy and determination to excel can sometimes run out of steam… they are human after all, and when that happens, their findings and the quality of their observations tends to decline; they might not even realize it, nor anyone reading their reports… but that’s the case.
In countless investigations, just like “Mr. Bad Back” in our example, the outcomes and findings that the insurer receives will have an impact on the decisions being made to fulfil the respective claims and; in cases where investigators haven’t been clear in their observations; haven’t filed their reports correctly; have missed crucial pieces of information or; simply weren’t paying enough attention, the risks of fraudulent claims seeping through soar – and the risks associated with mistakenly denying legitimate claims spikes too.
The pendulum swings both ways.
We hope, whichever investigation agencies you decide to employ for your future insurance matters, that you take the time to understand the quality of the reports you’re being supplied with. You might find that what you’ve been receiving to date is amazing, when in fact it’s actually costing you countless man-hours in interpreting, analyzing and compiling crucial pieces of information… which your agency should have clarified for you.
How many times have you noticed things in the footage that wasn’t included in the report, or seen things in the report that don’t match what you’ve just seen on the screen? It happens more often than you’d like to admit.
It’s with great pride that Precise Investigation has come to employ and appreciate the importance in identifying operatives who show a genuine drive for high performance in their duties. That drive goes hand-in-hand with being able to gather information with regards to the cases we undertake, meeting the requirements set out in our clients’ instructions and carrying out our investigations with the utmost discretion, integrity and skill – all the while working ever-so-closely with our dedicated support team to further enhance our reports and provide our clients with the most efficient means of reducing the risks of fraud.
If you feel that your investigations could be improved or you’d like to consider the services of a professional private investigator, get in touch with Precise Investigation’s Insurance division today by calling 03 9564 7303.
Thank you for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you,
The Precise Investigation Team
