Slashdot Mirror
Insurance Claims to be Tested by Lie Detector
Albanach writes "HBOS, one of the largest UK banks is to introduce random lie detector analysis of insurance claims according to this article from the Edinburgh Evening News. The three month trial will see calls from its 1.5 million policy holders randomly subjected to voice stress analysis. Those flagged up will then receive a set of questions designed to expose 'potential fraudsters'."
INSURANCE cheats will be subject to lie-detector tests in a pilot project being introduced by a Edinburgh bank.
City-based HBoS will launch a three-month scheme starting in September analysing phone calls to its insurance hotlines using the sophisticated technology.
And the insurance industry is sure to be watching with interest as it fights to reclaim the estimated 1 billion which the Association of British Insurers says are made in fraudulent claims each year.
The new HBOS phone system will randomly test a selection of the calls it receives from its 1.5 million policyholders.
Using voice stress analysis techniques to detect changes in speech patterns caused by stress, the machines will be able to make an initial assessment as to whether the caller may be lying.
A special series of questions has also been devised to try and catch out fraudsters.
Mark Hemingway, spokesman for HBOS, said plans to use the voice stress system would begin on a "small-scale" trial basis on calls to its household insurance department.
He said honest policyholders had nothing to fear from the new system as it will not be used in "isolation", but only as a starting point for further investigations.
He added that it could also lead to lower premiums.
Mr Hemingway said: "The techniques of voice stress analysis have been used in the insurance trade for the last 18 months or so to combat fraud and have been shown to be successful.
"This will just be one of systems we use to help cut down on fraudulent insurance claims and it won't be used in isolation and won't include everyone.
"After the initial three-month trial period we'll be able to judge whether it's been a success or not."
Callers selected to be part of the trial will be read a short script outlining responsibilities under the Data Protection Act before they give details of their claim. And Mr Hemingway said there will be measures in place to make sure only fraudsters are trapped, rather than those who naturally find making such phone calls difficult.
He said: "The system will be used with a whole host of other ways such as the sharing of information which the insurance industry does as routine.
"Honest policyholders will have nothing to fear and combating fraud will make things better for them anyway by helping to keep premium costs down."
And, according to research carried out by Insurance Times magazine, the system, which takes about 15 minutes per claim, could be used to cut down dramatically the need for lengthy investigations into claims by insurance loss adjusters.
But rival insurers, who will be sure to watch whether the system is a success, have already cast doubts on whether the lie-detectors are reliable.
A spokeswoman for Britain's biggest insurer, Norwich Union, said: "We have looked at voice stress systems and we don't believe they are tested, or are effective enough."
And civil liberties groups have also expressed strong reservations about the use of the technology and are seeking assurances about how the data will be used.
Mark Littlewood, campaigns director for Liberty, said: "The first critical thing is that customers are made aware they are under this sort of surveillance. Covert surveillance is very worrying.
"I'm also not persuaded this works, and that it doesn't discriminate against those who are just very distressed."
The new technology is just one of a series of developments which insurance companies have been looking at to try to cut down on the cost of fraud.
Last year, a computer software company announced it had developed an online lie-detector test which sifted through email and other text, looking at factors such as the tone of the messages, to try and find indications of senders telling lies.