On Tuesday, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) announced the creation of a new counter fraud and scams function and the appointment of Andrew Gill as its Chief Executive Officer.
Undetected fraud is estimated to cost the insurance industry around AU$400m (US$266.8m) a year, harming customers and the economy while contributing to higher insurance premiums, the ICA said in its announcement. That is in addition to detected fraud, with the ICA adding that in 2023 its members detected AU$560m (US$373m) in cases of opportunistic insurance fraud for motor and property alone.
The new counter fraud and scam function aims to provide an industry-wide capability focused on detecting organised fraud networks and identifying emerging fraud-related trends or criminal scams.
The function will collaborate with ICA members to collect intelligence on organised fraud, increasing the capability of insurers to detect and stop insurance fraud. It will also work with governments and their agencies in efforts to combat fraud and scams.
The newly appointed Gill is a financial crime professional who will bring extensive experience in investigating insurance fraud to the role.
He joins from McGrathNicol, a specialist advisory and structuring firm, where he was a Forensic Director and his extensive experience also includes 24 years as a detective in the fraud and cybercrime squad for the New South Wales Police Force.
Andrew Hall, CEO of the ICA, commented, “I welcome Andrew to the counter fraud and scam team, where I know his years of knowledge and expertise will be a great asset in guiding this important work.”
“Andrew will lead the new function as it becomes a standalone entity, external to the ICA, working with insurers to reduce the cost of fraud and scams to insurance customers and the community,” Hall added.
Gill also provided his own perspective on the importance of the new team, for the insurance industry and the Australian public.
“Organised fraud is costing the insurance industry millions of dollars each year, and this cost is reflected in everybody’s insurance premiums. By reducing fraud, we can have an impact on the cost of a premium and ensure that insurance customers are not paying for the unlawful and unfair acts of organised crime,” said Gill.
