Cunningham Lindsey revamps major loss team

Cunningham Lindsey has created a new type of investigations team for major losses in response to increase in the level of suspected fraud in major loss claims.

Roy Shevlin, head of the major loss team at Cunningham Lindsey, said: “The team approach that we use on major loss has been further strengthened by the addition of Major Loss Investigators. Clients expect the best possible advice on all aspects of a claim and the detection of potentially fraudulent activity is critical.

“The specialist skills our new investigators bring are equivalent to those of an accountant or surveyor. Like all our specialists, they will be involved throughout the life of a claim as circumstances change and new information becomes available.

“Major loss is as vulnerable to fraud as any other area of claims, and may well be exacerbated by the current economic situation. But this initiative is not just about stopping fraudsters, but validating genuine losses and paying them as swiftly as possible.”

The Major Loss Investigators – developed by the company’s fraud management director, Mike Boon – combines specialist adjusters from the company’s existing major loss capability with investigators skilled in investigations of potential fraud.

The investigators include Kelvin Rice, Paul Owens, Mike Cossins and Ron Stark.

A second arm of the new team – the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU), headed by ex-Chubb Insurance expert, Sue McKenzie – will add an intelligence-driven methodology and improve the screening and interpretation of financial data from a wide variety of sources.

Alongside the major loss investigators already in place, Cunningham Lindsey is seeking three more major loss investigators as well as recruiting extra staff for the FIU – scheduled to launch in September.