Keoghs is one such company and responsible for market issues Natalie Larnder (pictured) noted that the team was in contact with the joint committee while the bill was being scrutinized. doing. It will be considered as the bill progresses. She said she is willing to participate in this process as Keoghs is very alive in the impact of new measures on the wider market.
“We don’t know exactly what the revised bill will bring,” she said. “We are still waiting for it and expecting it [to be unveiled] Around Easter. The insurance industry has sought steps to combat online fraud through search engines, social media platforms, etc. that pretend to be legitimate insurance companies. “
According to her, the way these scammers work is consumed during a crisis, usually after a car accident, when consumers are searching online for their insurance company or related third-party insurance companies. Is to target people. Consumer clicks appear to be related to legitimate organizations, but instead are directed to another company. Perhaps it’s a garage that has nothing to do with an expensive credit car rental company or the insurance company you’re probably contacting.
This can cause consumers to face high bills, but in other cases, consumers may not even know they are the victim of fraud.
“This is the situation we hope these amendments will cover. This is very positive news for the insurance industry and a very welcome addition,” she said. “The next step is to see what the exact wording of the bill covers. Doing this correctly and taking appropriate sanctions to take this new obligation seriously. It is important to confirm. “
A common tactic seen by scammers is that while the ads themselves appear to be fully compliant with the branding that consumers are aware of, the links lead to spoofing the company they are trying to contact. am. This further complicates the process for insurers to identify fraudulent ads, but it is relatively easy for search engines and social media platforms to implement checks when creating ads.
Therefore, new measures introduced should focus on preventing fraudulent ad publishing and hosting. The hosting part is currently important because simply checking the domain to which the ad is linked can save a lot of stress, time and money to consumers and the wider insurance market, Lander said. It is time to impose more obligations on larger organizations to ease the burden on individuals, especially those dealing with crises.
Fraudulent and misleading ads are primarily aimed at people who are vulnerable at the time of billing, and fraud is for all insureds, whether or not individuals are aware of the misunderstanding. It puts a great financial burden on you. This also has an unpopular side, as insurers rely on insurers to contact them and rely on them to be confident that they will receive excellent and reliable service in the event of a claim. ..
“If you can’t control who, how can you be confident? [your clients] Are you even in contact with? Insurance companies are fighting this every day, “she said. “And the insurance company isn’t waiting to say: “Oh, we’re stuck because we don’t have what the law requires.”..They are reporting all of this [incidents] When they happen, but they take a long time to sort out.That’s what I want to change when new obligations are imposed
“First, I don’t want to see this activity at all. But second, I want to make sure that anything that ends online like this will be removed soon. At this point, these scammers are these ads. It’s so easy to post that an insurer can place 5 or 10 ads in the time it takes to remove one. It’s a constant battle. “
read more: Areas of insurance fraud that companies ignore at their own risk
Insurers are spending a lot of money on advertising to ensure that their brand first appears when consumers are looking for them, Landa said. However, it’s easy for scammers to go beyond that process and have online searches show websites that are misdirected in front of legitimate sites. The process of removing these ads is underway for insurance companies, she said, but it takes time.
In addition, insurers are investing in advertising campaigns to understand the best ways to reach consumers, she said. Unfortunately, these efforts work best with current customers than with customers insured by other insurance companies. In the event of an accident, a third-party customer may investigate the contact details of the insurance company you want to contact online. During that search, you are vulnerable to fraud.
“There is constant work being done by the insurance industry to tackle this,” says Larnder. And while online search engines and social media sites have a certain level of process to tackle it, I think this isn’t really an incentive so far.
“What we really want is that more is done on the front end, so when these ads are placed, [these sites] You have taken these additional steps before you go online. Being more aggressive reduces the need for follow-up work to stop them. “
This is what Keoghs and industry-wide teams want to move the dial for an ongoing fight against insurance fraud as a result of future bill changes. “We hope that sufficient modifications will be made to cover all these types of situations, and will cover the financial and psychological harm that can result from online fraud. . “
In these particular situations where an individual may not be aware that he is a victim of fraud, the impact is initially completely economical and can lead to a lot of stress and psychological harm, she said. Said. As such, Keoghs is encouraging the proposed amendment to recognize this economic hazard and implement sufficient sanctions to ensure that companies take their duties in this area seriously.
“Now, Ofcom intends to move this forward in terms of what it expects search engines and social media platforms to do to comply with their new obligations,” she said. “This is another step we are working hard to keep an eye on what Ofcom sets up and how it regulates.”
