Who are we?

Insurance Confidential is a lo-call confidential hotline run by the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF). Since the hotline’s establishment in 2003 over 4,500 cases of suspected fraud have been reported. There were almost 700 new cases of suspected insurance fraud reported to the Insurance Confidential Hotline in 2009, up from 300 cases reported in 2008.

The many forms of insurance fraud have one common effect – they increase the cost of insurance claims for insurance companies, which in turn increases premiums for honest policyholders.

For further information about IIF and the work we do see www.iif.ie .

What is IIF doing to combat insurance fraud?

The Irish Insurance Federation is involved in many efforts to crack down on insurance fraud.

• Operated from the offices of the IIF, the hotline “Insurance Confidential”, set up in 2003 is a hugely successful resource helping to combat fraud in Ireland. 
• The IIF in conjunction with the Garda Síochána have put in place “Guidelines for the reporting of suspected Insurance Fraud” to assist insurance companies in the referral of cases of suspected insurance fraud to the Gardai for criminal investigation.
• “Insurance Link”, the IIF’s anti-fraud claims matching search engine is proving a useful tool as it allows insurance companies to cross reference individual claims with their fellow insurance companies. 
• Claims departments within individual companies have been beefed up through the employment of experts to detect fraudulent claims. In many instances, these additional personnel are ex- Gardai with significant relevant experience. In addition, having these specialist staff on board is helping the industry prepare for criminal prosecutions as well as the more familiar area of civil cases. Insurers also make use of private investigators for surveillance and related work.
• IIF lobbied the Government to address legal aspects of the problem, which has led to the inclusion of anti-fraud provisions in the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. The Act effectively introduces a specific offence of insurance fraud in relation to personal injury actions and offenders now face a fine of up to €100,000 and/or up to 10 years in prison.

The combined effect of these measures is that the stakes have become much higher for fraudsters at every stage in the process. They act as an effective deterrent for would be fraudsters who might in other circumstances be tempted to make a fraudulent claim.

Do these campaigns help reduce fraud?

Yes. These campaigns work. Insurers have been successful in identifying and successfully challenging a wide range of fraud. Fraud has been uncovered across all major lines of insurance business and a range of cases have been referred on for criminal investigation and successful prosecution by the Gardai.

Contact Us

To report suspect fraud contact Insurance Confidential on lo-call 1890 333333 or report online here.

Alternatively you can write to the below address.

If you would like to speak to someone to get  information about other insurance matters please contact the IIF’s free Insurance Information Service on 01 6761914 or info@insuranceconfidential.ie.

Irish Insurance Federation (IIF),
Insurance House,
39 Molesworth Street,
Dublin 2.
T: 01 676 1820
F: 01 676 1943
E: info@insuranceconfidential.ie