With the cost of living only going up, the temptation to manipulate insurance quotes looks set to rise too. With over a fifth of motor insurance buyers thinking it’s fine to fib for a cheaper insurance policy¹, now is the time for insurance providers to harness data intelligence to help detect application fraud, support fair and accurate pricing and avoid claims disputes later down the line.

A recent study found 68% of car owners are looking to make savings this year, including shopping around for cheaper car insurance², and as consumers’ willingness to manipulate the information they provide for a cheaper motor has jumped to 21% of consumers in 2022, from 12% in 2018³, insurance providers have cause for concern.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is younger people who are more likely to manipulate quotes. Nearly three quarters of 18–24-year-olds in our recent study thought any or some adjustment of information is okay in order to reduce their insurance premium⁴.

Combine this with the higher cost of motor insurance⁵ contributing to rising household bills and we are left with the perfect storm for quote manipulation. It’s clear that there is a pressing need for investment and collaboration to tackle this form of application fraud.

Using the power of quote data gathered from across the market insurance providers can now identify the probability of data being manipulated between quotes. Indeed, LexisNexis® Quote Intelligence connects and compares millions of motor insurance quotes and now offers a Manipulate module to flag if a quote may have been manipulated, at the point of quote. The Manipulate module complements the Tempo module which looks at the proximity of quotes to the insurance effective date​ and the Connect module which looks at connections between the Proposer and Named Drivers looking at address and VRN​.

Like any fraud, there are ‘sweet spots’ people use to try to lower their insurance costs. By uncovering changes between quotes in key fields prone to manipulation such as years a vehicle has been owned; years licence held; occupation; and estimated mileage, LexisNexis Quote Intelligence helps to protect insurance providers from inaccurate pricing and fraud.  Importantly, these insights which examine if a quote has changed between different online quotes over a specific period of time, can also help insurance providers protect consumers from their policy becoming null and void if deliberate mis-statements are uncovered at the claims stage.

So, as consumers continue to feel the financial pinch and the threat of fraud rises, now is the time for market-wide quote data to shine.

Sam Marsh | Director of Product Management | LexisNexis Risk Solutions Insurance

Read more article from Modern Insurance Magazine here

1. LexisNexis Risk Solutions was not identified as the sponsor of this research, which was based on a survey of 1,546 consumers who had bought motor insurance online within the last 12 months and was conducted during April 2022.
2. https://www.themotorombudsman.org/press-releases/tmo-urges-motorists-to-keep-vehicle-servicing-front-of-mind-in-the-face-of-cost-of-living-hike.
3. https://risk.lexisnexis.co.uk/insights-resources/white-paper/white-lies-and-misbehaviour-report LexisNexis Risk Solutions was not identified as the sponsor of this research, which was based on a survey of 1,500 consumers who had bought motor insurance within the last 12 months and was conducted during January 2018.
4. LexisNexis Risk Solutions was not identified as the sponsor of this research, which was based on a survey of 1,546 consumers who had bought motor insurance online within the last 12 months and was conducted during April 2022.
5. https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/price-index.