The Adrian Flux group has become the first insurance broker in the UK to sign up to SIRA (the Syndicated Intelligence for Risk Avoidance) anti-fraud database, powered by Synectics Solutions.
With fraud thought to be costing motorists up to £50 per motor policy in additional premiums, the database will be used to check information from new business proposals against known fraud data shared on the system by other financial organisations.
The system is already used by more than 20 insurers, but Flux is the first broker to adopt the solution as an underwriting aid to enhance its current anti-fraud and risk management processes.
Gerry Bucke, general manager at Flux, which includes the Herts Insurance Consultants, Bikesure and Chartwell brands, said: “This shows our commitment to combating motor insurance fraud, and will complement our existing fraud detection procedures and speed up our identification verification processes at the inception of a policy.”
“In our opinion, brokers should be at the forefront of fighting fraud and helping to reward honest motorists by cracking down on those responsible for increasing premiums for everyone on the road.”
The Flux group has delegated underwriting authority on a range of motor insurance schemes, and Mr Bucke said it was better to root out those guilty of known fraud offences at the point of sale rather than waiting for a claim to occur before investigating.
SIRA helps to do just that, allowing members to both contribute to and screen against a database holding details of fraudulent activity provided by financial institutions including insurers, banks and building societies.
Kevin Shanahan, managing director at Synectics Solutions, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Adrian Flux group as the first broker to take up the SIRA solution. This continues to reinforce the diversity of the National SIRA membership and, as a result, will strengthen the counter fraud capability which is provided to the insurance sector.”
Flux already undertakes identification checks, along with use of the national claims database, and will adopt the MyLicence initiative, which provides access to the DVLA records on motoring convictions and is due to go live later this year.
Mr Bucke added: “SIRA is an additional tool in our armoury against fraudsters, and we all in the industry have a responsibility to put in place robust procedures to combat fraudulent practices that penalise the innocent motorist.”
About SIRA
SIRA provides a single, integrated fraud detection and prevention solution which delivers full lifecycle protection to major names within the UK financial services and insurance markets and to a growing list of international clients. The solution is a fully managed and hosted service, which eliminates multiple points of referral in order to streamline working practices. SIRA places unrivalled flexibility and control in the hands of the user and offers the following key benefits:
- Screening against local and syndicated data throughout the lifecycle of an enquiry
- Fully configurable and user defined rules
- Flexible workflow and referral prioritisation
- Secure access to a user friendly interface to aid efficient investigations
- Additional data sources can be integrated including Sanctions, ID Verification and Device Reputation
- Enhanced scoring can be applied through the integration of sophisticated scoring models
- A reporting suite for the provision of management information
- Additional modules are available including automated letter production and integrated triage questionnaire