Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority Honored with 2017 IMCA Innovation Torchbearer Award

Business Wire

IFPA Recognized for Educating Consumers about Insurance Fraud

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Insurance Marketing & Communications Association (IMCA) presented its 2017 Innovation Torchbearer Award today to the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority (IFPA) at IMCA’s 2017 Annual Conference in Scottsdale.

IMCA’s Innovation Torchbearer Award, one of the most prestigious honors presented within the insurance industry, annually recognizes individuals or organizations that have demonstrated innovative ideas or initiatives impacting the industry.

“IMCA selected the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority for this prestigious honor as a result of its impactful public awareness campaign, which has become a national model for helping to educate the public on insurance fraud,” said Anna Hargis, chair of the IMCA board of directors and director of advertising at Shelter Insurance.

Hargis added, “By studying the knowledge base and attitudes of the public multiple times throughout their media campaign, IFPA was able to see a quantifiable difference in the awareness and beliefs about insurance fraud.”

Among IFPA’s many achievements:

Created a shift in consumer perception and behavioral attitudes toward committing insurance fraud.
Resulted in a significant reduction in the number of fraudulent insurance claims.
Freed up time and resources previously spent on bogus claims and allowed investigators to concentrate on large-dollar crimes by organized insurance schemers.
Provided a best practice model currently being used in 33 other states.

In addition to IFPA, finalists for the 2017 IMCA Innovation Torchbearer Award included Allstate Business Insurance, Jornaya and The Doctors Company.

“Our finalists for the 2017 IMCA Innovation Torchbearer Award provided excellent examples of innovation in insurance industry marketing and communications and all four organizations should be commended for their efforts,” said IMCA immediate past board chair Mark Friedlander, who is chair of the Innovation Torchbearer Award committee and head of corporate communications at The Main Street America Group.

Friedlander added the nominees were judged by a panel of IMCA board members and scored within three key areas:

Overall impact of innovation on a national or international level.
Impact of innovation on respective insurance industry segment.
Degree of innovation deployed in executed creative strategy.

Past winners of the IMCA Innovation Torchbearer Award, initiated in 2012, include:

2012: USAA
2013: Esurance, An Allstate Company
2014: Swiss Re
2015: Insurance Information Institute (III)
2016: Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)

About IFPA

The IFPA was created in 1994 by the Pennsylvania General Assembly through Act 166, Pennsylvania’s Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, to arm law enforcement with the resources necessary to fight insurance fraud in the Commonwealth. For more information about the IFPA and the See How They Lie campaign, visit www.helpstopfraud.org, and www.seehowtheylie.com.

About the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association (IMCA)

IMCA (www.imcanet.com) is the oldest insurance marketing association in North America with roots tracing back to 1921. Membership includes leading international and domestic multi-line insurance companies and brokerage firms, regional and specialty companies, general agencies, and prominent industry suppliers. The organization represents over 120 companies, including the top five North American property/casualty writers. Members include senior level management and professional staff working in the areas of corporate communications, advertising, public relations, marketing communications, marketing and sales promotion, marketing research and technology.