Focus on insurance fraud in Scotland
Insurance law firm DWF is supporting the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), clients and enforcement bodies in a robust collaborative approach to disrupting insurance fraud in Scotland. The law firm was part of the first trusted supplier group joining the IFB Affiliate Membership in April 2017, allowing it to share intelligence with the IFB membership and the wider counter fraud community.
Insurance law firm DWF is supporting the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), clients and enforcement bodies in a robust collaborative approach to disrupting insurance fraud in Scotland. The law firm was part of the first trusted supplier group joining the IFB Affiliate Membership in April 2017, allowing it to share intelligence with the IFB membership and the wider counter fraud community.
The benefit of DWF and the IFB sharing fraud intelligence is already evident, according to DWF. The details of a Scottish organised fraud network have already been shared with the IFB with investigations ongoing in the hope that details of their activities can be made public later in the year.
Scotland has become a very fertile ground for professional enablers of insurance fraud, some of whom have abandoned similar activities in England and relocated their businesses to Scotland to take advantage of the lack of claims management regulations.
DWF's vision is to break barriers and promote collaboration across the industry in Scotland to help create an environment that will encourage information-sharing crucial to tackling fraudsters and their enablers at source. The firm’s first Organised Fraud Disrupt to Progress round table forum was held on 20 April, bringing together insurers, industry bodies and law enforcement agencies in Scotland. In a proactive exercise, DWF’s Intelligence Team created intelligence profiles for over 200 organisations involved in the claims industry in Scotland and this figure is increasing every day. ‘Knowing your opponent’ and creating bespoke effective strategies to counter fraudulent claims remains the key DWF focus.
Lorraine Carolan, DWF's national head of counter-fraud, said: "Intelligence and data are at the very heart of our business and we leverage this in fighting and disrupting fraud across all of our service lines. The industry fight against fraud is only ever enhanced by working collaboratively. This approach has long been supported by the work of the IFB. We have for many years worked closely with the IFB, and are proud to be among the first associate members joining the IFB Affiliate Membership to add to the great work already being done. We welcome being able to share and develop intelligence through such a well-established and long-standing industry body."
Stephen Dalton, head of intelligence at IFB, praised the ‘significant strides’ made by the industry ‘in data sharing to combat insurance fraud’: “Closer collaboration and intelligence sharing is the most effective way to identify and disrupt organised cross-industry fraudsters. DWF becoming a member of the IFB through the new Affiliate Model is an important step in developing a truly holistic counter-fraud strategy that encompasses the insurance industry’s trusted supply chain."