Community tipoffs are helping the insurance industry and state government of New South Wales in their fight against insurance fraud linked to the CTP Fraud Taskforce.
The Taskforce,
launched last month, is already yielding results as members of the public have tipped off the insurance industry to suspicious claims.
The
Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), which has a seat on the Taskforce, has made the Insurance fraud Bureau of Australia (IFBA) Fraud Hotline available to the State Regulatory Insurance Authority (SIRA) to support the initative.
Laurie Ratz, spokesperson for the IFBA, said public cooperation with insurers is vital in the combat against fraud.
“Since the launch of the Taskforce in March, the fraud hotline has received tipoffs from concerned citizens who have identified suspicious CTP claims,” Ratz said.
“Several of these tipoffs have been steered to insurance companies for thorough review and investigation. It’s too early to say whether these tips will lead to charges being laid by police, but these cases are the tip of a very large iceberg.”
Ratz said that the entire community is affected by fraudulent CTP claims with SIRA figures showing that New South Wales has experienced a 29% surge in CTP insurance claim numbers since 2014, despite a fallin the number of road accident victims presenting at hospital.
“Insurance fraud costs the entire community - the NSW Government estimates it adds $75 to each CTP premium,” Ratz continued.
“IFBA estimates 8 to 9 per cent of all insurance claims may be fraudulent, costing Australians more than $2 billion every year.”
Ratz noted that those in touch with the hotline can remain anonymous, if they wish, as all information is vetted and passed onto insurers for further assessment.
Cases of suspected insurance fraud can be reported to the IFBA Hotline on 1800 600 444 or via
http://www.ifbaintelligence.com/.”
