CANATICS announces two new appointments to help in the fight against insurance fraud

TORONTO, Feb. 19, 2015 /CNW/ - The team behind the most powerful new tool in the fight against organized insurance fraud has been strengthened with the announcement today of two important appointments. In addition, Canadian National Insurance Crime Services (CANATICS) is proud to have been awarded "Privacy by Design Ambassador" status, and to have launched a new website that will increase the transparency around CANATICS and its operations.

Mario Silvestre has joined CANATICS in the role of VP, Analytics and Operations, and Alexander Adeyinka has joined as Chief Privacy Officer and General Counsel.

"I'm pleased to welcome Mario and Alexander to the team," said Ben Kosic, President and CEO. "Their experience, skills, and versatility will be a great benefit to CANATICS. Mario and Alexander will be integral in fulfilling the vision for a state-of-the-art data analytics tool for fighting the costly, dangerous, and growing problem of organized insurance fraud."

CANATICS' mandate is to analyze pooled auto insurance industry data, using the most current tools, to identify suspicious claims that individual insurers can then investigate. Insurers will begin receiving alerts during the second quarter of this year.

Mr. Silvestre has 25 years' experience in auto insurance claims management, working for leading insurers such as The Co-operators and RSA. In his most recent role with RSA as Director of Shared Services, Mario led the development and implementation of their fraud detection strategy. He has prior experience and knowledge working with the same data analytics technology being used by CANATICS.

Mr. Adeyinka has over 20 years' experience as a lawyer in the communications industry, most recently with Rogers Communications as Associate Chief Privacy Officer & Senior Regulatory Counsel, and prior to that as Vice President, Regulatory Law & Policy. In addition to substantial privacy law work he was significantly involved in legislative and regulatory policy submissions to government and communications regulators.

Other developments announced today include CANATICS being awarded "Privacy by Design (PbD) Ambassador" status, which recognizes organizations that adhere to the gold standard in privacy protection, and the launch of CANATICS' corporate website.

Mr. Kosic said: "Privacy is foundational to how we operate. Anyone who wants to learn more is urged to visit our new website, which contains videos, FAQs and links about the problem of organized insurance fraud, how CANATICS helps combat fraud, and the steps we take to ensure the protection and privacy of the data entrusted to us."

Organized and premeditated auto insurance fraud reduces road safety because of staged collisions, and raises premiums for all drivers. A report by KPMG Canada, prepared for the Ontario Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force, estimated that fraud costs Ontario auto insurers as much as $1.6 billion.

About CANATICS

Canadian National Insurance Crime Services, or CANATICS, is a non-profit organization focused on fighting insurance crime be providing the industry with superior intelligence derived from analytics performed on pooled industry data. CANATICS maintains an unwavering focus on data quality, privacy and security. Learn more at www.canatics.ca

SOURCE Insurance Bureau of Canada

[email protected]