Esure, the online insurance arm of the Halifax and Bank of Scotland Group, has become the first insurer in the UK to sign up to Cue PI, a personal injury database managed by credit reference agency Experian.
Cue PI, which is due to go live at the end of the year, will provide insurers with details of all personal injury claims, including claims for illness and disease, for the entire UK population.
Insurers will be able to validate an individual's claims history and identify any multiple or potentially fraudulent claims. Historical information from the Compensation Recovery Unit will also be loaded on to the Experian database so that claims history can be tracked over a period of time.
The service will also provide insurers with a direct link to the Compensation Recovery Unit. By electronically loading all claims through the Web-based system, paper claims forms no longer have to be manually submitted.
Mike Prentice, managing director, insurance services division, Experian, says fraudulent insurance claims cost the insurance sector £1 billion a year: "Cue PI has been designed to help prevent fraud by identifying non-disclosure of claims, false and multiple claims by individuals."
In addition to Cue PI, esure is also joining the Cue Home and Cue Motor databases which provide records of an individual's previous household and motor insurance claims. To date, 25 of the UK's major household and motor insurance companies contribute to the databases.
Mike Pickard, head of underwriting, esure, says: "We believe that our customers shouldn't have to subsidise those who have a poor claims history. With Cue we will be able to identify high risk customers and continue to ensure that our customers and careful drivers aren't penalised and continue to receive good value quotes."