Using AI and data analytics to fight insurance fraud

IN 2021 in Singapore, 17 people were rounded up in a series of police operations to expose fraudulent and staged motor accidents. Five men were charged in April 2022 over their suspected involvement in motor insurance fraud. For some, the nefarious act is worth it: fraudsters can reportedly earn up to S$20,000 a month.

The impact on the industry is vast. The General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) has found that some 20 per cent of all incurred motor claims in Singapore are fraudulent. In Malaysia, motor insurance fraud cases cost the industry an estimated 1 billion ringgit a year.

One of the reasons road touting, or the business of inflating claims (which includes scouts, workshop operators who overcharge for repairs, and surveyors who endorse high repair fees), is so lucrative is that it has been difficult so far for insurers to detect fraud. However, the increasing digitalisation of the motor claims process and technological advances are changing that scenario.