You only have to see the huge number of claims for whiplash to realise fraudulent claims cost the insurance industry and motorists generally billions of pounds. External data including social media is essential to highlight potentially fraudulent claims. Drivers and passengers and addresses involved in multiple claims relationships.
It is amazing how often Google Street View shows a solicitor, a scrap yard, a car repair shop and car sales dealer all located near to each other- and inter-connected by insurance claims
So ethical use is important but without such use the unethical gain at society's cost
Big data is used across the financial sector but has become particularly important to insurers who use information about consumers’ behaviour to calculate premiums. Platforms such as social media also offer insurers a way to verify whether claims are fraudulent. They can, for instance, check whether two people in a seemingly random road accident are connected.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b58dcc8c-929e-11e5-94e6-c5413829caa5.html#axzz3sRjfbnmL
