Entries Tagged 'Auto insurance' ↓

You might think this is another of these articles rambling on about distractions while driving. Yes, there are manufacturers who build in technology to watch TV or play DVDs. Most people in the back seat might think this a good idea but, from the driver’s point of view, driving gets more exciting when you have to turn around to catch the replays. But, as it happens, this is about something completely different. Do you remember the reality show called Motormouth? This was one of these “play-a-trick-on-your-best-friend” shows in which unsuspecting drivers would be encouraged to sing while navigating local streets. The results would then be viewed by a panel consisting of the show’s producer and friends. A winner was then declared and embarrassed by being shown up as the person least likely to succeed on American Idol (even with Jennifer Lopez as a judge who can’t say no). Well, here comes a real-world version designed to impact driving standards on your local streets.

One of the most unnerving of all moments for a parent is when their teen gets a driving license and then demands the keys to the family car. The statistics all suddenly leap into focus. Tens of thousands of teens are killed and injured on our roads every month. When you hand over the keys, you are praying your teen will not end up a statistic on a local hospital gurney. Yet, there has been a quiet experiment going on in Wisconsin since 2007. It’s called the Teen Safe Driver Program, run by American Family, a local insurer. The company offers parents a discount on the policy for their teen if the company is allowed to instal cameras inside each vehicle.

The way the package works is simple. One camera watches the road. The other captures the expression and body language of the driver. This is a realtime stream. If there’s a dramatic event, brakes are suddenly slammed on or there’s a violent swerve, the package saves the images for the twenty second before the event and notifies the parents. Everyone can then view what happened before, during and immediately after the event. Yes, there’s a remote website where authorized people can access the recordings and see exactly what the driver was doing. Mostly, it’s just the parents who see how badly their teens are driving. But obviously, the insurance company, police and other authority figures also have a interest in a factual record of what happened to decide who was at fault in any accident. Continue reading →

It’s remarkable how trusting some people can be. You ask them for help, you make friends with them even for a moment and, suddenly, they are prepared to do things for you. In the best cases, they are prepared to give you money. Life can be sweet for the people with honest faces and a good scam. Except, after a while, you run out of easy marks, so have to look around for a new set of victims. One of the next steps up the ladder is the photocopying paper invoice. It’s surprising how many small firms will just pay an invoice that comes in for routine consumables used around the office. No one thinks to count how many packs of paper they have or how many deliveries they took. If the invoice looks right, they pay. But then you could move higher up the fraud tree.

The current low fruit waiting to be plucked are in the insurance industry. Why is this? Well, it comes down to a number of factors. The first is the usual inefficiency of large organizations. With so many people working the administrative side of the business, many do their jobs on auto-pilot. If they can tick all the boxes on their checklists, they pay out on a claim. Second is the increasing boldness of the fraudsters. They are now into staging traffic accidents. Those with small numbers of people to call on find clinics with flexible morals and pay kickbacks for unnecessary treatment and favorable medical reports to support their claims. The professionals set up their own clinics. Some are just shells to front the fake medical reports. Others are genuine to slip through the fake claims. Continue reading →