Insurance Fraud Finds a New Enemy in Verisk’s Advanced Image Forensics

Insurers in the United States now have a new weapon from Verisk in the battle against claims fraud: image forensics. Verisk (Nasdaq: VRSK), a leading global data analytics and technology provider, is expanding its anti-fraud claims solution with artificial intelligence that will enable insurers to identify potential fraud in claims photos with lightning speed and laser precision.

Drawing on millions of claims images in Verisk’s databases, including the loss history database ClaimSearch®, the image forensics solution analyzes every image submitted as part of a claim to detect indicators of fraud. Without any human intervention, the solution automatically flags photos that have been altered, manipulated or downloaded from the internet. Using ClaimSearch, Verisk’s solution also identifies images that have been submitted to other insurers. The image forensics solution will be featured in a webinar on June 21.

The digital transformation of insurance fraud

Reusing or altering photos is just one example of the growing trend of insurance fraud, which costs the United States approximately $308.6 billion annually, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

A Verisk study of a sample group of 768,000 claim images found 1,967 duplicates, including one photo used in 44 different claims. These duplicate claim images could be linked to 1,475 separate claims for which approximately $5.3 million in indemnity payments were made.

“The ubiquity of mobile devices, photo editing software and claims filing applications is making it easier than ever to submit fraudulent images of damages to insurers,” said Shane Riedman, vice president and general manager of anti-fraud analytics for Verisk Claims Solutions. “The image analytics and alerts we’re adding to ClaimSearch gives insurers the ability to quickly, automatically identify and investigate suspect claims, while simultaneously accelerating meritorious claim resolution for the vast majority of policyholders.”