HPI has moved to reassure its insurer customers that it will ring-fence potentially sensitive commercial information from new owners Norwich Union (NU).
Managing director Simon Walker said: “We do not think that any information we hold would be of any particular value to NU, but nevertheless there is no intention for NU to have access to internal customer information.”
Insurers use HPI at the point of claim to determine to whom payments should be made and as an indicator of fraud. One insurer said: “Most insurers have standard amounts of requests going through HPI. But if we do well that number could climb. If we do badly it could fall. The possibility that changes in frequency could be used by NU could cause a lot of concern.”
But Walker denied the information would have any commercial value.
Following its purchase of HPI, NU has stepped down as chair of the ABI's Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR).
HPI currently manages the MIAFTR database for the ABI, resulting in a potential conflict of interest.
