It seems like yesterday when I began my career at the Insurance Crime Prevention Institute (ICPI). I was hired as a Special Agent "trainee" to introduce some young blood into the investigative operations of the organization. For the first year of my career, I was assigned to a seasoned ICPI Agent named Craig Kennaugh to learn the many intricacies of investigating staged accidents, suspicious slip and falls and medical fraud in Chicago. That was in 1987. The experience I gained from being a field agent was invaluable in providing me a knowledge base on how complex, data intense and time consuming these types of investigations were.
Over the course of the next 24 plus years, I've experienced many positive changes that have strengthened our ability to fight fraud. ICPI merged with the National Automobile Theft Bureau (NATB) to create the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) in 1992. Shortly after the merger, I assumed a position at NICB Headquarters where I began a transition from field work to program management to information systems and data acquisition.
During this period of time, information sharing evolved from claim history information being reported by insurers on index cards and stored by regional Index Bureaus in Lecktrievers to online electronic access. NICB led this change and was at the forefront of providing online access to vehicle and claim information via NDBS and later with the launch of NICB Online. In the late 1990's, NICB information and systems, along with data from the Index System and PILR, formed the foundation of the All Claims Database, ISO ClaimSearch. This consolidation created a one stop solution for claim handlers, special investigators, NICB and law enforcement to query millions of claim and vehicle information to piece together disparate pieces of information to fight fraud.
While data sharing and technology were changing at a rapid pace, NICB leadership was proactive in stressing the value of information driven investigations. This foresight led to the creation of the Strategic and Tactical Information Department (Data Analytics today) whose mission was to analyze information to proactively inform NICB member companies and NICB field operations of trends and patterns of possible insurance fraud or vehicle theft.
Analytically our biggest opportunity to proactively identify medical provider fraud lies within the development of the Aggregated Medical Database. Over the past two years, we have worked with our members to aggregate auto and workers compensation medical billing data in order to process fraud indicators to identify possible fraud, waste and abuse. Early findings have been positive, and we will continue to enhance our capabilities.
As I celebrate my 25th anniversary with NICB this April, I look forward to future changes that must be undertaken to thwart the criminal ingenuity of insurance fraud and vehicle crime perpetrators.
Dan A. - Chief Information Officer