Neil is reading a new book: 

The Failure of Risk Management takes a close look at misused and misapplied basic analysis methods and shows how some of the most popular "risk management" methods are no better than astrology! Using examples from the 2008 credit crisis, natural disasters, outsourcing to China, engineering disasters, and more, Hubbard reveals critical flaws in risk management methods–and shows how all of these problems can be fixed. The solutions involve combinations of scientifically proven and frequently used methods from nuclear power, exploratory oil, and other areas of business and government. Finally, Hubbard explains how new forms of collaboration across all industries and government can improve risk management in every field.

We are really excited to release our new Media Upload Tool in the coming months.  It will solve all the problems associated with transferring large video files from the field back to your main office.  It will also allow PI companies to deliver surveillance video to their clients more efficiently. 

Spending hundreds or thousands on shipping video?  Spending even more on video storage?  Worried about the security, integrity, and back-up of surveillance video? If you answered yes to any of those questions then our video storage and transfer application may be for you.

Sold separately and as a package with our Scout - Investigation Management application.

Media Upload Tool Spec.pdf (268.77 kb)

I was visiting a client last week and they mentioned a new sitcom was coming out about their business. Apparently the show stars Morgan Fairchild and the cast includes David Proval (“The Sopranos,” “Mean Streets, “The Shawshank Redemption”), Robert Carradine (“Revenge of the Nerds,” “Lizzie McGuire”), Charley Koontz (NBC’s “Community”) and J. LaRose (“Saw III,” “Insidious,” “Saw IV”),

Since claims are the single largest expenditure for a property and casualty insurance company, investing in claims management operational improvements is one of the most effective strategies to drive profitable growth, according to a report by Deloitte.

To enhance operational excellence in claims, the report suggests:

• Technology enablement—Developing an overarching approach to how and where to invest in new capabilities can improve efficiency and increase the likelihood that the technology infrastructure effectively supports the organization's initiatives to enhance operations.In Deloitte’s experience, technology enablement, if employed with proper training to leverage new capabilities, can reduce claims adjusting expenses and increase productivity levels by as much as 20 to 25 percent. In addition to greater efficiencies, technology enablement can also allow carriers to realize better outcomes by focusing on the work that matters, with some insurers achieving up to a four- to six-point reduction in loss ratio.
• Fraud detection—Insurers that adopt advanced fraud detection tools and techniques that promptly identify claims with a high propensity for fraud can reduce losses and may gain a reputation in the industry of being hard on fraud.

Read the full report to learn more about how insurers can gain a distinct competitive advantage that drives long-term, profitable growth and increased returns.

We signed up Permanent General Companies as our latest Scout client and are witnessing first-hand the enormity of auto insurance fraud.  A recent article in Insurance Networking News goes in-depth about the problem and the technology used to fight it. Excerpt below:

To lessen auto insurance fraud, insurers have options, from data mining to direct repair networks.

Fraudulent claims account for a small but significant portion of all claims received by insurers, costing billions of dollars annually. Insurance frauds are diverse, occurring in all areas of insurance. Their severity ranges from slightly exaggerated claims to deliberately caused accidents or damage.

Every insurer should realize that one in three auto insurance claims are potentially fraudulent

The enormity and frequency of fraud occurrence is greater at the claims stage than at the application stage.

TECHNOLOGY'S ROLE

Technology is the most reliable way to combat fraud. Some emerging technologies insurers should keep on their radar include the following:

• Transaction-based Profiling.
• Neural Networks.
• Data Mining

Of course having a great case management system like Scout helps to manage those investigations of fraudulent claims.  I guess that’s why we have several other auto insures kicking our tires…  

4. Cloud/SaaS Maturation

The maturation of cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) is changing the options that are available for the delivery of IT solutions.

Some of the confusion in the marketplace about the differences between hosted solutions, SaaS, ASP (application service provider) model offerings, and cloud computing is caused by vendors that mislabel what they are really offering.

In spite of any deficiency in clarity, the reality is that there are many new options available to reduce costs, reduce risk, and increase both system capacity and capability.

Read the entire article from Property Casualty 360

A link to one of our favorite publications:

Pursuit Magazine for Private Investigators and Investigation Professionals

My favorite is Cortex - A free extension for Google Chrome, a ring that appears onscreen when you click and hold your mouse on something you want to share via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Instapaper.

See the other 11 designs at Fast Company

BP committed $20 billion to set up the Gulf Coast Claims Facility after talks with the Obama administration. The fund expires in 2013. It pays claims for economic losses from the oil that poured into the Gulf for three months after the April 20 explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig off Louisiana.

About 2,500 claims appeared fraudulent. Fifty of those have been referred to the Justice Department for criminal investigation. Hundreds more may follow.

Lack of documentation isn’t criminal by itself, Feinberg said. He said 5,000 claims from Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana —each using identical language claiming inability to fish for food because of the spill and each lacking critical documentation — were rejected.

“That’s not fraud, that’s just a denied claim,” Feinberg said. “That’s just trying to game the system.”

Read the entire report at The Stuart Smith Blog

See, aspiring thief, you just never know what you're stepping into when you hit up a random car on a random street. However badass you think you may be, there is someone on the other side of the robbery.

By the end of that first day, I knew what the thief looked like. I ran his e-mail address through a reverse e-mail finder, which cost me about 15 bucks for a month's worth of "surveillance." There was no information about the address -- except he used that same e-mail to sign up for a low-rent dating site about a week or two before and had made the colossal mistake of uploading three pictures of himself and three pictures of his girl Amberley, with a heart tattoo on her right boob. He was a tall linebacker type with an emerging belly and piercing blue eyes that seemed to issue a dare. He looked vaguely neo-Nazi, but maybe that was just the blond buzz cut.

He had not posted his whole name. But I knew what I had to work with: John F, Caucasian, 23 years old, from San Mateo. His moniker: Johnny Boi.

Read the entire story here