The insurance industry collects more than $1 trillion in premiums every year. With so much revenue being collected, it invites criminal activity from many different segments of society. Professionals are not the only ones that commit insurance fraud, in fact ordinary law-abiding policyholders also sometimes play with the numbers in order to get larger settlements. According to the FBI, non-health insurance fraud is estimated at more than $40 billion a year, costing the average U.S. family $400-$700 a year worth of increased premiums.

The above acts of wrongdoing have forced Facebanx to unveil a new online facial recognition technology that will reduce claims fraud significantly.

The insurance industry has invested millions of dollars in analytical tools, claims management systems and data warehouses in order to keep track of claims and go after suspicious claims. The Facebanx platform works a little differently through asking policyholders to add a picture of their face to their insurance policies online. Whenever a customer files a claim, the image can then immediately be screened against a database to verify the actual policyholder is making a claim.

Identifying the person making the claim at the point of first contact greatly reduces the chances of multiple fraudulent claims being made. The photo can be added using a WebCam on PCs, laptops, tablets or smart phones.

 “Our product has been specifically designed for the insurance industry and provides a unique solution for insurers to share data to combat multiple claims fraud. We are currently talking to a number of insurance companies about adding their software to their CRM,” said Matthew Silverstone, CEO of Facebanx.

The software works by combining its video chat software with the latest facial recognition algorithms to take photos of customers. Once the right image is captured and stored in a database, insurance companies can access it in order to verify the identity of a customer. The technology used to identify the customers is the same one being used in passport control at Heathrow Airport. The system identifies customers through an online conversation with a call center operator or through using an automated software technology

The Facebnx cloud-based platform gives multiple users either a manual or automated search capability with unlimited access around the world. The company is positive in its assessment that this tool will bring significant cost benefits to large insurance companies all over the globe.