April
18, 2000
TO:
Home Office Contacts - ISO Claim Search~
We
said we'd do it. We did it. We have completed what the industry has long
considered the single most important action against insurance fraud: we have
physically integrated the industry's three separate major claims databases into
one unified database for all claims - the new ISO Claim Search system.
Casualty
claims from the former INDEX System, property claims from the former Property
Insurance Loss Register ~ILR), and the auto claims databases previously
administered by the National Insurance Crime Bureau are now one database, one
system.
The
ISO Claim Search system already holds 140 million claims, and it's growing at
the rate of three million reports a month. The comprehensiveness of the database
- measured by the number of insurance lines it services and the number of claims
it contains - makes the ISO Claim Search system far more effective in
identifying patterns of fraud than the three separate and incompatible databases
that ISO Claim Search replaces.
When
the idea of an all-claims database shifted in 1994 from being a glimmer in the
eyes of claims investigators to emerge as a seriously studied industry option,
no less an expert than IBM Corp. put the cost at $40-$50 million. In reality,
ISO has completed the task for one fourth of that cost in less than two years
from the date ISO began managing all the component databases.
Since
April 1999, SIUs have been able to conduct cross-line searches across all data
using the Investigations Query Tool through the ISO Claim Search Online system.
And since June 1999, investigators have also been able to perform cross-line
searches using ISO Claim Search on ISOnet, SO's Internet information-delivery
platform.
Now,
as a result of the component databases' physical integration, the industry is on
the verge of an era when data across multiple insurance lines data is quickly,
easily, and routinely available to every one of your claims professionals. That
significant advance in your ability to screen claims will further enhance your
ability to spot potential fraud early for referral to the SIU.
Now
there's just one task left to complete - adopting ISO's Universal Format - to
give all of your claims professionals access to all the ISO Claim Search system
offers. When you report data in
Claims-Database Integration Universal
Format, your claims professionals can receive reports of all matching ISO Claim
Search information in a single, easy to read format. Your staff can more easily
and reliably spot potential fraud when they receive consistent, integrated
reports across insurance lines instead of reports in a different format for each
of the casualty, property, and auto segments of the database.
The
Universal Format is available in three ways:
1)
on the ISO website - iso.com - for easy access. You can download it from theWhat
's New area of the site and review
it. [To download the document, you will need this user name: Universal and customer password: ForMat2000.]
2)
by e-mail to your address. You can send an e-mail to njsupporty@iso.com with
your name, title, company, telephone and e-mail address to request that a copy
be sent to you.
3)
or you may request a hard copy by calling ISO Claim Search Support
at1-800-399-2585.
Then
you can get ready to make the most of the ISO Claim Search system's integration
by adjusting your systems to promptly begin reporting claims data using the
Universal Format for all claims. The Universal Format simplifies your claims
reporting by replacing the three separate formats that have been used for ISO
Claim Search's three database segments.
The
ISO Claim Search system will begin accepting claim-data submissions in Universal
Format on July I.
I
urge you to be among the first to realize the full benefits that the ISO
ClaimSearch system's advances make possible. You'll want to act promptly, so
you'll be ready to adopt the Universal Format as early as you possibly can.
The
creation of the ISO ClaimSearch all-claims system is an all-industry achievement
of true significance. It's an achievement made possible by visionary and
purposeful industry leadership, including that provided by the National
Insurance Crime Bureau, its Board of Governors, and the ISO Claims Council,
which comprises senior claims professionals. Claims professionals and
investigators everywhere have every cause to celebrate the realization of the
ISC ClaimSearch system just as enthusiastically as we are at ISO.
We
can help you achieve the full benefits of the ISO ClaimSearch system. Together
we can improve the quality of the all-claims system as an industry resource -
and improve the information your claims staff depends on to combat fraud and pay
legitimate claims quickly. If you have questions or would like to discuss the
ISO ClaimSearch system and development program, please give me a call at (212)
558-2020 or call the ISO ClaimSearch Customer Support office at 1-800-399-2585.
We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Richard
P. Boehning Senior Vice President
AMERICAN
INSURANCE SERVICES GROUP. A UNIT OF INSURANCE SERVICESINSURANCE
SERVICES OFFICE, INC.
NEWYORK. NY10004-1898 (212)558-2000
FAX(212)558-2100
RAHWAY, NJ 07065 (732) 388-0332 FAX (732) 388-0537