Fraudulent insurance claims hurt everyone, from the everyday person to insurance companies. Fraud is a serious issue that no insurance company should take it lightly. The number of insurance fraud cases is staggering. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) reported that fraud makes up 10 percent of loss and loss adjustment expenses every year.
Fraud steals an estimated $80 billion from insurance companies every year. Some of this fraud involves injured accident victims claiming multiple injuries that have no relation to the accident. They “build up” their injuries to claim more in damages. This forces insurance adjusters to be skeptical during the claims handling process.
So, what can you do to ensure that the claimant’s injuries are legitimate? Social media and medical canvassing may be the answer. Together these services can strengthen your insurance claims investigations.
How Can Social Media Boost Your Insurance Claims Investigation?
Around 3.2 billion people around the world use social media. That is 42 percent of the world’s population! It’s no wonder that social media use is now part of many people’s daily routine. It allows us to connect with family and friends. Users also use social media to talk about events that happen in their lives. They use social media to connect and explore the world.
Today’s evidence needs to include materials from multiple social media platforms. Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook can provide mountains of helpful information. So, an examination of your claimant’s social media activities could prove useful in the courtroom.
Using these tools can help you figure out if an insurance claim is legitimate. And considering how widespread these media platforms are, neglecting them could be a big mistake.
Were you aware that Facebook has 2.45 billion active monthly users worldwide? In the first quarter of 2019, Twitter had around 68 million monthly active users in the United States alone. With so many users posting, somebody is bound to post something of interest to your insurance case/claim.
Statistics reveal that 35 percent of social media users admit to posting something they later regretted. If that post involves the right information, investigators can and do use it to identify fraudulent insurance claims.
How Can Medical Canvassing Strengthen Your Insurance Claims Investigation?
A trend we’ve noticed the last several years while conducting SMIs is the increase in the number of claimants posting medical information online (i.e. reviews for doctors, check-ins at medical facilities, etc.). As such, our SMI department has joined forces with our Medical Records department to provide a service called Medical Background Investigations.
During insurance claims investigations, medical background investigators use a variety of tools. These tools include online sources and proprietary databases. With these resources, investigators can identify places where claimants may have received treatment for injuries, including:
- Pharmacies
- Doctor’s clinics
- Medical institutions
- Hospitals
- Rehabilitation and therapy facilities
Medical canvassing involves using deep analysis and lengthy research to uncover fraudulent claims. Medical background investigators start by investigating various medical facilities in the claimant’s community. This includes facilities near their homes, places of employment and past residences.
This will help determine if the claimant received medical treatment before or after the accident that was not disclosed. It may also detect past injuries while verifying new ones. Finding such vital information may prove impossible for an insurance company working alone.
It is no easy task to determine if an insurance claim is legitimate. Medical background investigators develop essential resources to help find the records needed to validate a claim. This helps companies uncover fraudulent claims efficiently and effectively.
Contact Our Medical Background Investigation Team for Your Case
Bosco Legal Services, Inc. has been performing medical background investigations since 1988. We have helped many law firms, insurance companies, and businesses gather the evidence they need to uncover fraud.
If you need help gathering medical evidence or uncovering potential fraudulent claims, we can help. Contact our medical background investigators at Bosco Legal Services, Inc.
Call our Riverside office today at (877) 353-8281 to discuss your situation. You can also fill out our online contact form, and someone from our office will be in touch with you soon.
