Fraud-management professionals explore latest strategies for combating insurance fraud at 2009 IFM Conference

by Thomas Mulvey

More than 300 professionals gathered in March for the 2009 Insurance Fraud Management Conference in Orlando, Florida, to discuss the latest trends and tactics for insurance fraud prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution.

Three industry leaders set the tone for the conference at a gathering on the first morning:

Vincent Cialdella, a senior vice president at ISO, welcomed conference attendees and congratulated them on their efforts in fighting insurance fraud over the past year, noting some of the challenges brought about by the current economic strain.
Joseph Wehrle, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the National Insurance Crime Bureau, outlined the efforts of his organization and explained five disciplines of the NICB operation: data analysis, investigations, training, legislative advocacy, and public awareness.
Doreen Spadorcia, executive vice president of Claim Services for Travelers Insurance, shared her thoughts on insurance fraud resistance in the face of the economic downturn and outlined some areas of positive development over the last several years.

Two general sessions on the second and third days of the conference provided additional insights into the fight against fraud:

Kirk Nahra, a partner with the Washington, D.C., firm of Wiley Rein, spoke about the latest trends, requirements, and interpretations regarding information sharing, data security, and privacy regulation compliance.
Dr. Rick Wakefield, president and chief executive officer of International Healthcare Consultants, shared his candid thoughts on how to create a productive environment for medical investigations.

The exchange of ideas continued through 16 concurrent workshops on significant issues facing the SIU community. The conference’s closing session featured panel members from seven state insurance fraud bureaus and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

And at the conference’s products and services expo, attendees had the opportunity to meet with representatives from companies providing antifraud technology, investigative assistance, public information data sources, forensics, and educational offerings.

Save the date
Next year’s conference will take place in Las Vegas, March 21 to 24.