Program empowers Australian insurers to unite in the fight against organised fraud networks
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) today announced a new collaboration with global AI leaders Shift Technology (insurtech) and EXL (data AI company), to build a national data analytics fraud detection and investigations platform for the Australian insurance industry.
The new platform - to be delivered in coordination with the ICA's counter-fraud and scams division, the Insurance Crime Intelligence Network of Australia (ICINA) - enables insurers to securely share fraud patterns and coordinate investigations, with car insurance claims as the first focus.
The platform build is expected to commence in early 2026, using advanced data analytics capabilities to alert fraud investigators to suspicious activity in real time. Insurers will use the platform to develop collaborative investigations into organised fraud and take action against prolific fraudsters.
The new effort mirrors a growing global trend of association-led counter-fraud initiatives, with comparable programs using Shift solutions with insurer associations in the UK, France, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Privacy, governance and security are central to the program. Participating insurers will share data using privacy-preserving techniques, strict role-based access controls, and end-to-end encryption.
The platform will operate under a robust industry governance framework including legal oversight, and technical controls will align with Australian regulatory expectations and relevant certifications.
Andrew Gill, CEO ICINA:
The insurance industry has fought fraud for decades, but fraudsters have adapted to our digital transformation. Today's organised networks exploit online services with increasing sophistication, driving up costs for honest customers.
Today's announcement is the industry's most comprehensive response to fraud. By connecting insurers through secure, real-time intelligence sharing, we're creating an early warning system that identifies fraudulent patterns across the entire market - stopping criminals before claims are paid.
This privacy-protected, technology-driven collaboration will deliver tangible results - faster detection, prevented fraud, and downward pressure on costs.
Jeremy Jawish, CEO of Shift:
Our work with insurance associations around the world has demonstrated that we are stronger together when it comes to fighting organised insurance fraud. Together with EXL, we are bringing these powerful collaboration capabilities to the ICA and its member insurers.
We know that fraud, especially when conducted by organised networks, does not just impact individual insurers, but rather the entire industry. Its impact is felt by insurers and policyholders.
We are honoured to bring our approach to fraud detection and investigation, which combines domain-trained models, secure data collaboration and strong governance within an AI platform - that will learn and grow smarter as fraud tactics evolve - to insurers across Australia.
Vishal Chhibbar, chief growth officer and head of international growth markets, EXL:
EXL is proud to work alongside the ICA, member insurers and Shift in delivering a collaborative, industry-grade approach to fraud detection that reflects the needs of Australian insurers.
Building on our deep insurance expertise and long experience helping insurers move from fragmented systems to governed, high-quality data environments, we are embedding advanced data directly into the platform. Our teams work closely with individual insurers to uplift data quality, strengthen validation and security controls, and ensure the intelligence they rely on is accurate, trusted and actionable.
This initiative will give Australian insurers a more seamless, cost-effective way to identify and respond to organised fraud, strengthening protections for insurers and policyholders nationwide.
