Annual Report

2024

Upgrading Delivery of Data and Metrics

Key initiatives included sweeping upgrades to member-facing dashboards, which improved usability and delivered more precise insights into emerging trends, and the establishment of a new internal metrics system, which enabled real-time visibility for leadership at all levels.

The Data Dashboards:

• Increased member access to data
• Expanded organization awareness of fraud
• Created efficiency gain in metrics tracking
• Improved collaborative efforts with multiple partners
• Advanced efforts to combat insurance fraud and vehicle theft.

Driving Innovation for Members and Partners

The Data Science Team continued to grow and mature throughout the year, building upon previous years’ investments in infrastructure, personnel, understanding the customer base, and strategy
development. Specifically in 2024, the team focused on identifying unique data assets, as well as building solutions and tools. These enhance both our internal investigations and intelligence, as well as support members and strategic partners.

One specific tool included the Salvage Swap Detection project, which generated actionable leads for NICB agents and investigators. Additionally, the team focused on improving internal efficiencies and infrastructure in the program via our cutting-edge entity resolution capabilities and an emphasis on data quality. Operating on a model of testing tools internally first, the team continues to drive towards delivering innovative solutions directly to members and strategic partners.
 

In 2024, NICB achieved a 61% increase in the production of intelligence report products compared to 2023.
 

NICB’s proactive approach to addressing member interests was exemplified by products highlighting critical emerging or evolving risks such as travel insurance fraud schemes, peer-to-peer car sharing services, crop insurance fraud, spinal cord stimulator implants, intentional airbag deployment, and metadata manipulation detection strategies. NICB also strengthened relationships with Fusion Centers, which now credit NICB intelligence products in their own law enforcement-sensitive reports. The team also developed intelligence product standards and a style guide to ensure product consistency.

Responding to Disasters

NICB’s Catastrophic (CAT) Response Team was formally activated 12 times in 2024 to support efforts in combatting insurance fraud. The team assisted with the immediate and ongoing analysis and mapping of claims data, monitoring of social media for potential fraud schemes, and working in the field with carriers and emergency management agencies. NICB participated in numerous insurance villages to inform impacted citizens of potential contractor fraud schemes and actively assisted state regulators in monitoring contractor credentials. NICB continues to analyze data, share intelligence, promote community awareness of contractor fraud, and investigate matters involving fraud within impacted regions.

Supporting Members and Partners with Instructor-Led Learning

FraudSmart continued to serve as a cornerstone of NICB’s L&D training offerings, clocking 72 training hours of bi-weekly virtual instructor-led courses on a broad range of insurance fraud topics. Delivered by trained facilitators who are subject matter experts, these sessions offered in-depth insights and real-world applications, fostering engagement through interactive discussions.

In 2024, L&D delivered 70 FraudSmart courses spanning 43 topics to reflect the latest fraud trends and investigative techniques. The FraudSmart program also processed 1,235 continuing education units (CEUs) through state-approved courses developed by NICB to support member compliance requirements and professional development. These current offers demonstrate the program’s role in keeping NICB partners informed and prepared.

For 2024 and beyond, L&D will continue to evolve with impactful training offerings and promote a learning culture which addresses member needs and the fight against insurance crime and fraud.

Academies and Conferences Offer Knowledge and Networking 

Alongside traditional FraudSmart instruction, NICB offers additional member training opportunities through academies and conferences. These training options facilitate the transfer of institutional knowledge by providing a structured platform for sharing expertise and experience.

In 2024, two L&D specialized training events drew a collective audience of 299 attendees for the Fraud Investigation Vehicle Crime Academy (FIVCA) and Medical Workers Compensation Fraud Conference (MWCFC). The two events delivered an impactful 37 hours of training and offered in-depth instruction on pertinent vehicle, medical, and workers compensation topics. These events equipped investigative professionals with the latest strategies and best practices and highlight L&D’s dedication to fostering an informed and highly skilled community of professionals.

Bringing Experts Together to Share Experiences

Collaboration and impactful learning opportunities remain central to L&D’s training strategy. Throughout the year, NICB members and the L&D team collaborated on creating and delivering training opportunities tailored specifically to meet the needs of members.

These dedicated training sessions served to deepen partnerships with industry leaders through the delivery of topics including identity theft, vehicle crime and fraud schemes, and medical fraud. These sessions featured creative engagement activities, increasing participation and reinforcing expertise in combating fraud within the insurance industry. 

For 2024, over 1500 hours of dedicated training was provided to strengthen industry-wide fraud fighting capabilities and enhance crime prevention efforts.

NICTA Modules Deliver On-demand Critical Fraud Training

The National Insurance Crime Training Academy (NICTA) continued to serve as the premier on-demand eLearning platform to support adjusters and investigators in the insurance fraud fight. In 2024, NICTA expanded training offerings, boasting a comprehensive catalog of over 70 eLearning courses.

NICTA courses are designed to enhance awareness and foster a proactive approach, providing relevant training essential to equip professionals with the skills to detect, prevent, and combat global crime. NICTA courses represent the pinnacle of eLearning and are thoughtfully curated by a team of subject matter experts incorporating professional instructional design elements which provide interactive and impactful training for the adult learner. 

To ensure an effective training experience, NICTA introduced multiple new courses related to insurance crime and fraud trends, as well as facilitated upgrades to content and format for existing courses. Furthermore, NICTA processed 16,843 continuing education credits, supporting adjusters and investigators with professional development objectives.

A Year of Action

In 2024, SPGA took action on every front on behalf of our members. We submitted 155 letters to lawmakers and committees, testified in-person 18 times, assisted in drafting 41 pieces of legislation, and held an unprecedented 345 meetings with lawmakers, regulators, and their staff - ensuring that NICB’s unique subject matter expertise and the interests of our members remain at the center of key policy debates
occurring throughout the country.

As evidence of our impact, legislatures passed 54 bills to combat insurance fraud and crime, including measures that target predatory towing practices, the assignment of benefits and contractor fraud, and vehicle theft. Moreover, SPGA helped to defeat 33 bills that threatened to undermine the anti-fraud ecosystem, including data-related bills that would have hindered NICB’s role as the connector of the fraud-fighting community.

We submitted 155 letters to lawmakers and committees, testified 18 times, assisted in drafting 41 pieces of legislation, and held an unprecedented 345 meetings with lawmakers, regulators, and their staff.

Bringing Knowledge and Experience to the Industry

Beyond the legislative arena, SPGA strengthened our relationships with key stakeholders in our ecosystem by participating in 64 industry panels or events, holding 107 meetings with members and 272 with industry trade associations, and logging 60 in-person attendances at industry conferences.

We also collaborated with our members, strategic partners, and other key stakeholders to revise and strengthen our organizational policies and procedures, ensuring NICB’s ability to remain nimble, innovative, and always at the forefront of the fight against insurance crime.

Showing Value and Results for Members

Overall, our accomplishments in 2024 demonstrate SPGA’s continued commitment to our highest strategic priorities, further reinforce NICB as the subject matter expert and thought leader within the anti-fraud ecosystem for policymakers and partners, and well-position SPGA for achieving even greater impact for our members in 2025.

• Spearheaded efforts to pass comprehensive towing reform in several states across the country, partnering with member companies as well as various state and federal trade groups to form broad coalitions of support.
• Partnered with our members and other insurance industry representatives to combat contractor fraud and legal system abuse in Kentucky and Mississippi, helping pass laws to reform assignment of benefits provisions in both states.
• Built upon our record of success in the consumer data privacy arena by securing entity-level exemptions for NICB in states across the country, expanding the total number of data privacy laws enacted with NICB exemptions to 16. Congress also acknowledged NICB’s vital role in combatting crime and fraud by including an NICB-specific exemption in the comprehensive American Privacy Rights Act.
• Significantly contributed to NICB’s annual Contractor Fraud Awareness Week (CFAW) by securing proclamations in 21 states, leading a proclamation signing ceremony, and participating in two CFAW events, including a fraud awareness conference with Kentucky state legislators at which NICB was a featured presenter.
• Convened our seventh annual National Conference of Insurance Crime Attorneys (NCICA), bringing together member in-house counsel and state and local prosecutors to learn best practices, discuss emerging trends, and strengthen our collective hand in assisting the investigation and prosecution of fraudsters.
• Revised and strengthened NICB’s Privacy & Security Policy in collaboration with our members to ensure best practices for data security throughout our partnerships.

Growing Membership and Aligning with Adjacent Markets to Add Value

Despite working with just two Membership Directors (MD) for most of the year, PEMS onboarded an impressive 22 new Active and Associate members, which is a 20% increase over new members added in 2023. Looking outside the traditional P&C market, 50 percent of these new members were Associate members. Adding those members, their experience and data, brings value and additional perspectives to  fighting fraud. 

Sharing Information and Challenges in Associate Markets

During 2024, the PEMS team recognized a growing need for information sharing within our Associate members, leading to the creation of new programming in the form of quarterly calls to facilitate discussion across the Vehicle Finance and Rental programs, respectively. 

Bringing together professionals from these respective segments of our associate membership with NICB experts and representatives from law enforcement, NICB fostered conversations about the fraud challenges facing these segments and the fraud trends NICB and law enforcement are seeing in the areas. These conversations will help build awareness and identify solutions to help reduce the impact of fraud. 

Moving through 2025, NICB plans to increase promotion and participation in these calls to more voices and continue to build potential solutions.

Reaching NICB Members and Partners

A key part of PEMS’ success came from our dedication to building strong relationships with our members. Through sincere and personalized service and active participation in 13 industry events and conferences within and outside of the United States, we retained 99.5% of members who began 2024 with us.

This accomplishment speaks to the trust our members have in us and reflects NICB’s ongoing efforts to meet the evolving needs of our diverse membership.

Adding Value through Strategic Partnerships

Throughout the year, PEMS also focused on enhancing the Strategic Partnership program. Creating an intake form and a review committee helped the team vet interested entities and ensure other NICB departments had awareness of the potential benefit of aligning with the new partner. 

In 2024, PEMS tested the intake form on five potential partners which led to one partner going through the review committee and ultimately signing as a Strategic Partner.

Building Relationships and Adding Partners to the Fight

As PEMS enters 2025 with a fully staffed team, NICB remains committed to maintaining a strong community, expanding reach, and providing exceptional service. Reflecting on the 2024 efforts, the PEMS teams stands prepared to confidently tackle what lies ahead pushing boundaries and driving lasting change and impact. 

Through sincere and personalized service and active participation in 13 industry events and conferences within and outside of the United States, we retained 99.5% of members who began 2024 with us.

For the Public Affairs and Communications Department, 2024 was a year for the history books. 

The team refreshed NICB’s branding for the first time in 30 years, spent considerable time and energy on improving the overall member experience—as well as the experience for all key stakeholder groups—and greatly expanded our efforts to support Contractor Fraud Awareness Week, leading to one of the most successful public awareness campaigns in NICB’s history.

Launching the New NICB Brand

In early 2023, NICB kicked off a nearly two-year effort to modernize the organization’s branding, which had not been updated since 1992 when NICB was formed through the merger of the National Automobile Theft Bureau and the Insurance Crime Prevention Institute. This effort aligned with NICB’s broader transformation journey, which began in 2021. 

NICB unveiled its new branding—logo, colors, fonts, etc.—to members and the broader insurance industry in early 2024 at the Insurance Fraud Management (IFM) Conference in Houston. At the conference, which NICB co-sponsors, attendees experienced the new brand, which included a new logo on all conference signage and presentation templates, a new booth experience, branded giveaways, and an overall consistent look and feel for NICB.

The team continues to enhance the brand experience to assure all audiences understand the benefits and services NICB offers.

Building Visual Credibility and Name Recognition

Following the unveil, NICB completely revamped every touch point with members, law enforcement agencies, and other strategic partners, including the templates used for member communications, trend reports, insights, video and social media banners, printed banners, etc., as well as every conference booth, tent for community events, and clothing and apparel worn by employees. Plus, NICB launched a rebranded website and updated branding on social media channels.

Additionally, NICB leveraged the new branding in the design of its new headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois.

While the new brand launched in 2024, the work does not stop. The team continues to identify new opportunities to enhance the brand experience for members, law enforcement agencies, and other partners focusing on message refining to assure all audiences understand the benefits and services NICB offers.

Enhancing Member Experience

As NICB works with members to identify and investigate insurance fraud, Public Affairs and Communications seeks new ways to improve message delivery and overall access to information. From rebranding and promoting access to intelligence products to communicating the key advocacy efforts of our Government Affairs professionals, the team works to identify key channels and opportunities to reach members and provide them with information they need to take advantage of the valuable services NICB provides.

While the focus has traditionally been on the use of email and social media channels to disseminate information, the team is also leveraging partner channels and publications to help advance learning opportunities and key engagement messaging.

In 2025, NICB plans to review and restructure the NICB.org site to focus on member needs while maintaining critical paths for both law enforcement partners and the public. Complimented by targeted communications and newsletters, NICB is committed to helping our members get the information they need when they need it.