You hear it all the time — attitudes about fraud are changing.And while that may be true for some, a recent Insurance ResearchCouncil survey found that 18 percent of respondents believe it isacceptable to pad a claim to make up for premiums paid in the past.And according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), 10percent of property and casualty claims are fraudulent. And it allcomes down to this, liars lie. And as long as liars lie, there willbe people who commit claims fraud.

No doubt you've heard these lies: existing damage was the resultof a recent accident even though the damage occurred before thepolicy was active, a car was stolen even though it was recovered ata boyfriend's apartment, or the vehicle is driven for private useeven though it has a ladder rack and company signage on the side.Or how about a severely injured person who can't work, out andabout at the golf course? This list goes on even as liars get morecreative in their fraud attempts.

Carriers employ SIU investigators to dig deeper to uncoverfraud. Red flags call attention to suspected activity. Yet untilnow, there has been nothing revolutionary in fighting claims fraud.Vehicle location data is proving to be the missing link for manySIU investigations — linking suspected fraud to actual vehicleimages and location data that help to prove fraud.

About that vehicle location data — where does it come from andhow much data is there? DRN collects over 100 million sightingsnationwide each month. Those sightings are added to over 4 billionnationwide detections to provide carriers with data to fuel theirclaims investigations. Using our SIU investigative platform,carriers perform license plate searches that provide vehiclesighting images and location data including sighting date and time,maps and GPS coordinates. They can search by plate or by address tofind vehicles common to multiple locations for collusive fraudindicators. Tips and leads that are critical to investigation.

Back to those liars. Let's put vehicle location data to the testand look at suspected pre-existing damage. A claim is submitted fordamage to the rear bumper of a vehicle. A quick license platesearch (just log in and search, no IT integration required) showsseveral vehicle sightings prior to the accident date. And, thosesightings show that the bumper has been damaged for months beforethe policy became effective. You just avoided paying a fraudulentclaim.

Now imagine how that vehicle location data can be used touncover other types of claims fraud. Carriers use Event Links toinvestigate:

• Auto theft and accident claims

• Claimant and witness alibis

• Workers' compensation claims

• Personal use of commercial vehicles

• Preexisting damage to a vehicle

• Collusive fraud

When you think about the tips and leads you get from vehiclelocation data to identify claims fraud, you can understand whycarriers see this as revolutionary. This data is a game changer —the power of the vehicle sightings combined with the location dataputs evidence in your hands and puts a stop to fraudulent claimspayouts. Plus, it's available through ISO, so it's easy to getstarted. Find out how you can put the brakes on fraud. Contact AlexYoung, DRN Vice President of Risk Solutions: 817-710-7717 or[email protected].

Alex Young is vice president of Risk Solutions and isresponsible for developing the insurance market at DRN.