The IRDAI arm, the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB), will soon launch a B2B platform named ‘Beema Satark’ that will help the exchange of information among the general and standalone health insurers to detect fraudulent medical insurance cases.
The platform is the first step towards creating a fraud analytics platform for the Indian general insurance industry. All the insurance companies will be a part of the Beema Satark platform. The system will focus on health insurance claims for a start, and will include motor insurance claims at a later stage.
Majority of insurers see significant jump in insurance fraud
About 60% of Indian private insurers believe there has been a significant rise in insurance-related frauds in the life and health branches, while another 10% experienced a marginal increase, according to a finding of a survey by the global professional services firm, Deloitte.
The firm’s “Insurance Fraud Survey 2023” conducted in the July-September 2022 quarter was based on interviews with key C-suite stakeholders/senior management responsible for compliance across leading private Indian insurers.
Increased digitisation, remote working post-COVID, and weakened controls are key factors contributing to fraud.
New fraud trends, such as data theft, and traditional fraud, such as collusion between third parties and mis-selling of insurance products, continue to prevail and are still a concern for the sector, the survey notes.
Deloitte India partner and financial services leader, Mr Sanjoy Datta, says that mitigating fraud needs strategic intervention and an appropriate tone at the top; decision makers must review the insurer’s operations model and introduce ways to monitor it periodically.
“The Indian insurance sector is at the cusp of a digital revolution and like any other sector it is compelled to re-invent itself to introduce faster business operations, customer acquisition, and experience with the power of technology,” Mr Datta said.
The survey found that 40% of the respondents across the life and health insurance segments indicated fraud mitigation as one of the most important priorities for the Board and management, while the remaining highlighted it as one of the several key priorities.
As risks lurk, there is an immediate need for Indian insurers to consider a proactive fraud risk management framework, the survey noted.
