IBC to Focus on Auto Theft, Organized Crime

The Insurance Bureau of Canada has announced plans to concentrate its investigative efforts exclusively on auto theft and organized crime, and has therefore discontinued investigations of individual claims as of April 1.

“This move is in the best interest of IBC and its member companies because it allows the organization to concentrate on its strengths,” stated Terri MacLean, IBC Executive Vice-President, Information and Investigations. “Because of its access to the industry, and industry data, IBC is in a unique position to study information on different claims, and make the links necessary to identify ring activity.”

The bulletin explained that the IBC “has been offering individual investigations to members on a fee-for-service basis for some time. However, the demand for this service has diminished because many member companies have their own special investigation units or have outsourced investigations to private firms.

“Current individual investigations will be carried on until the files are closed. IBC expects this to be no later than the end of April, at which time many investigators will be reassigned to one of the two organized crime areas. Forensic Investigations, which has worked closely with IBC over the past few years, sharing information and conducting investigations under an outsourcing agreement, has offered positions to many of the investigators not being accommodated within IBC. To accommodate IBC members, requests for individual file investigations can still be directed to IBC’s regional offices, where, with the permission of the client, the case will be handled by Forensic.”

“This is a positive step for the industry, as IBC is uniquely positioned to investigate these types of activities and to partner with other organizations in an effort to prevent and reduce the impact of insurance crime,” MacLean concluded.