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Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Aadhaar-linked insurance fraud alert: Insurance scams on the rise; UP Police probe bogus claims using fake identities
Fraudsters are increasingly exploiting Aadhaar-linked identity systems to file bogus insurance claims, prompting a large-scale probe by the Uttar Pradesh Police and a renewed industry push to tighten oversight across health, life, and motor insurance sectors. According to officials, criminals have now moved beyond PIN code manipulation — a fraud technique previously used to bypass claim verification filters — and are forging Aadhaar documents to obtain insurance policies or process fictitious claims, ET reported. As of late July, UP Police have sent notices to multiple insurers, seeking details of claims executives and internal fraud-control teams involved in suspicious transactions. 'Aadhaar is emerging as the latest weak link in the fraud chain,' said Anukriti Sharma, Additional Superintendent of Police, Sambhal. 'Fraudsters have started creating fake identities using forged or manipulated Aadhaar cards to obtain policies and to initiate fictitious claims.' According to industry estimates, fraud accounts for 10–15% of total insurance claims in India. Many of these involve organised rackets that stretch from rural villages to hospital corridors, where vulnerable individuals are persuaded to share Aadhaar details in exchange for monetary incentives. The details are then used to purchase high-value policies, often with the help of small finance banks that offer minimal scrutiny. 'We have had 2–3 cases tied to the UP fraud,' said Krishnan Ramachandran, MD and CEO of Niva Bupa Health Insurance. 'Our fraud investigation team is actively involved. These cases often involve fake documents and coordinated efforts.' Insurers are now increasingly flagging suspicious data and reporting it to the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB), the sector's central fraud-monitoring agency. The IIB has been stepping up its use of analytics modules to detect patterns across claims and verify anomalies. One such module, which holds over 144 million records, helped identify 3 lakh potentially fraudulent life insurance cases involving a sum assured of Rs 1.73 lakh crore over the past five years. In several cases under investigation, police found that fraudsters altered Aadhaar-linked phone numbers and email addresses to prevent insurers from verifying claims with actual policyholders. These discrepancies often remain undetected until funds are withdrawn or a claim is processed. The probe also revealed that in many instances, claims were filed in the names of people who were either deceased or terminally ill, with syndicates using altered addresses to bypass blacklisted PIN codes. Policies of Rs 20 lakh or more were often involved. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays .
Economic Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Aadhaar is new weak link in insurance
Synopsis Fraudsters are exploiting Aadhaar-linked processes in the insurance sector by manipulating data and forging documents to file bogus claims across motor, health, and life insurance. Investigations reveal coordinated efforts involving fake identities, altered addresses, and exploitation of vulnerable individuals. Insurers and the IIB are enhancing fraud detection measures to combat these evolving tactics. Agencies Mumbai: After manipulating PIN codes for over a decade, fraudsters have found a new way in the insurance system to exploit Aadhaar-linked processes for identity-based frauds. From motor insurance to health claims, criminals are now manipulating Aadhaar data through forged documents to file bogus Police have, as of late July, sent out notices to several insurance companies to share details of the claims teams and other executives involved. These cases involve fake documents and coordinated efforts across banks and insurers. Fraud in the insurance sector is estimated to be around 10-15% of the total claims made. Insurers are increasingly sharing the 'red-flag' data to the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) to control it."Aadhaar is emerging as the latest weak link in the fraud chain," said Anukriti Sharma, additional SP Sambhal. "Fraudsters have started creating fake identities using forged or manipulated Aadhaar cards to obtain policies, and to initiate fictitious claims." Investigations by UP Police have shown that not only are these criminals targeting life and health insurance policies with forged documents but are also running organised rackets for auto insurance."We have had 2-3 cases tied to the UP fraud," said Krishnan Ramachandran, MD and CEO, Niva Bupa Health Insurance. "Our fraud investigation team is actively involved. These cases often involve fake documents and coordinated efforts."Several life insurers and general insurers have reported instances where Aadhaar-linked phone numbers and email IDs did not match the policyholder's actual contact details, and these frauds go undetected until a claim is filed or money is certain cases, police found that the syndicate members scout hospital corridors and rural villages for the most vulnerable or people already facing death or poverty. They convince families to hand over Aadhaar details, alter addresses to bypass blacklisted pin codes, and open accounts in their names using small finance banks with less oversight. Then came the life insurance policies where policies worth ₹20 lakh or more are has been stepping up efforts using several modules and platforms for fraud detection and prevention. For instance, one of the tools that stored 144 million records helped identify 300,000 potentially fraudulent life insurance cases, involving a sum assured of ₹1.73 lakh crore over five years.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Niva Bupa eyes 5-10% faster growth than industry through FY29
Niva Bupa aims for high single-digit premium hikes to counter medical inflation and portfolio aging, with a 7% increase already implemented on one product in Q1. Despite a rising loss ratio and expense ratio near the regulatory limit, the company targets 5-10% faster retail growth than the industry. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) You grew 11% in Q1 and retail seems to be driving the growth. Will that continue and what is the outlook for the rest of the year? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) Post 1/n accounting change, are you seeing changes in customer behaviour post-regulation? Q) There is concern about policy count not rising fast enough. What is your take? Q) Loss ratios have gone up. What is behind that? Q) Your reported medical inflation is much lower than peers. Why the gap? Q) Any progress on industry-wide hospital empanelment and standardization? Q) You raised prices this quarter. What is your premium hike strategy for FY25? Q) Has the 10% cap on senior citizen hikes affected customer retention? Q) The share of high-ticket policies seems to be rising. What is driving that? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) Expense ratios are under regulatory pressure. How are you tracking? Q) By when can we expect a sub-100 combined ratio? Q) What trends are you seeing in fraud or litigation? Q) What are your expectations from the new IRDAI chairman? Mumbai: Niva Bupa is targeting high single-digit annual premium hikes to offset rising medical inflation and the risks from an aging portfolio, said Krishnan Ramachandran, Managing Director and CEO of Niva Bupa Health Insurance in an interview with Shilpy Sinha. In Q1, it raised rates by 7% on one product and plans similar hikes on 2–3 other company reported a Q1 expense ratio of 35.9%, close to the regulatory cap of 35% plus allowances, but remains confident of staying compliant for the full year. Retail health remains a core focus, with plans to grow 5–10 percentage points faster than the industry over the next 3–4 remains our focus. Our goal is to grow 5–10 percentage points faster than the industry over the next 3–4 years. That said, regulatory and accounting changes like revised commissions and 1/n accounting—have impacted how long-term policies are priced. Due to the shift to 1/n accounting, the reported number understates actual growth. Adjusted for this, we are growing at 28% overall and 32% in retail. IFRS profit after tax came in at Rs 70 crore, up from Rs 36 crore last Customers are opting for shorter-tenure policies. Long-term plans used to account for the mid-20s percent of our retail portfolio; now it is the low 20s. The behavioural shift seems to have settled, but the accounting impact on Indian GAAP will take 2–3 years to normalize. That is why we will continue publishing IFRS numbers quarterly for better our 32% retail growth, 85% came from volume lives insured not pricing. We have launched a three-year awareness campaign to drive further penetration across the an IFRS basis, the retail loss ratio has risen to 68%, group to 61%. Overall, our loss ratio rose about 300 bps, largely due to portfolio mix shifting towards group, which has inherently higher loss ratios. In retail, some increase is due to book maturity. There has been no structural change in claim severity or frequency so internal inflation is 5–6%, versus 12–14% industry-wide. This varies by product and customer mix, and our hospital network negotiations help. But the broader point is valid, we need a standardized medical inflation index. The Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) has claims data that could support such an index, while the government should update the health component of CPI to reflect modern healthcare it is gathering pace. Thousands of hospitals are in different stages of adopting the common empanelment framework. We expect maturity in the next 12–18 months. There are also efforts underway to standardize treatment protocols, starting with infections, and we hope to scale this aim for high single-digit hikes annually to offset medical inflation and aging portfolio risk. We took a 7% hike on our ReAssure 2.0 product in Q1 and expect hikes on 2–3 more products. The gap between medical inflation and premium increases also reflects portfolio aging and claim major impact. Senior citizens make up 15–20% of our customer base, which has remained Policies with sum insured of over Rs 10 lakh rose from 73.7% to 81.7% in retail health. It is a shift toward more adequate coverage, Rs 10 lakh is the minimum required for quality care of Q1, our expense ratio is 35.9%. The regulatory cap is 35% plus allowances. We are confident about staying within limits for the full immediately. IFRS combined ratio was 103.2 in Q1. Our long-term guidance is to reach 98% over four years. We have brought down the combined ratio from 103.9 to 103.2 in Q1. For FY25, we expect improvement over FY24, but dropping below 100 this year would be fraud and abuse incidents have increased. We are also seeing a rise in health claim litigations . Some third parties now coach customers to litigate claims in exchange for a fee. It is a worrying trend and something the industry must worked in insurance since 2007, insurance is a critical sector and the private sector is barely 25 years old. Development should be a key focus. One specific area is transitioning to IFRS accounting. IRDAI has already announced this in mission mode, targeting 2027. Making IFRS the statutory standard will improve comparability and reporting quality.
Mint
03-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Stocks to watch: Yes Bank, Vodafone Idea, ITC, Adani Group, Grasim Industries among shares in focus today
Yes Bank shares will remain in focus once again today as its board is scheduled to meet to discuss a potential fundraising plan. Vodafone Idea (VIL) stated that it is in discussions with the central government to resolve the AGR matter, with CEO Akshaya Moondra expressing confidence that there is no justification for the government to be restricted in providing relief. Biocon has been granted approval to market the diabetes medication Liraglutide in India. Jindal Stainless announced that it has acquired a 33.64% equity stake in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed to build a 282 MW hybrid renewable energy project aimed at powering its manufacturing facilities. On May 28, US-based investment firm GQG Partners boosted its holdings in ITC Ltd, a leading Indian consumer goods company, by executing a bulk deal. HCL Tech revealed a strategic alliance with UiPath aimed at fast-tracking Agentic Automation for businesses worldwide. True North, a private equity firm, along with Niva Bupa Health Insurance CEO Krishnan Ramachandran, sold a total of 10 percent stake in the health insurance company for ₹ 1,507 crore via open market deals. The Adani Group is once again being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), this time over allegations of importing Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) into India via the Mundra port. Aditya Birla Group's main holding company revealed that its Finance Committee has given the green light to issue non-convertible debentures (NCDs) totaling up to ₹ 1,000 crore. An Ahmedabad-based firm announced that it has entered into a long-term Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with BP Singapore Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the global energy giant BP, to supply up to 0.41 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) between 2027 and 2036. Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Economic Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
True North, Krishnan Ramachandran sell 10% stake in Niva Bupa Health for Rs 1,507 crore
Private equity firm True North and Niva Bupa Health Insurance chief Krishnan Ramachandran divested a combined 10 per cent stake in the health insurer for Rs 1,507 crore through open market transactions. ADVERTISEMENT Mumbai-based True North, through its special purpose vehicle Fettle Tone LLP, sold a total of 17.29 crore shares or 9.46 per cent stake in two tranches in Niva Bupa Health Insurance, as per the bulk deal data on BSE. In addition, Niva Bupa Health Insurance MD and CEO Ramachandran offloaded 1 crore shares, representing a 0.55 per cent stake in Gurugram-based Niva Bupa Health Insurance. The shares were sold in the price range of Rs 82.11-82.76 apiece, taking the combined transaction value to Rs 1,507.50 the transaction, Fettle Tone's shareholding in Niva Bupa dipped to 8.01 per cent from 17.47 per cent. Meanwhile, DSP Mutual Fund acquired more than 4.96 crore shares in four tranches or 2.72 per cent stake in Niva Bupa Health Insurance, and SBI Mutual Fund picked up 1.51 crore shares or 0.83 per cent stake in the health insurer. ADVERTISEMENT The shares were purchased at an average price of Rs 82 per piece, taking the aggregate deal value to Rs 531.49 of the other buyers of Niva Bupa Health Insurance's shares could not be ascertained on the BSE. ADVERTISEMENT Also, M Pallonji and Co Pvt Ltd bought more than 1.35 crore shares, amounting to a 0.74 per cent stake in Niva Bupa Health for Rs 113.83 crore, as per the bulk deal data on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).The shares were acquired at an average price of Rs 83.95 apiece. ADVERTISEMENT Details of the sellers of Niva Bupa Health's shares could not be identified on the NSE. Shares of Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company plunged 9.98 per cent to close at Rs 83.07 per piece on BSE, and it declined 9.90 per cent to Rs 83.15 apiece on NSE. PTI (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
