Law firm launches fraud academy

National law firm, Keoghs, has launched a fraud academy as part of a continued commitment to bolster its level of support for insurance firms.

The employee development programme will provide all 130 members of staff within Keoghs’ specialist claims unit with the latest technical fraud training, as well as an ongoing update on the key issues facing insurance clients.

Using a combination of classroom-style teaching, workshops, e-learning, mentoring and on-the-job training, the fraud academy will also update employees on general legal issues, while offering additional training for ‘soft skills’ such as client care, effective communication and telephone technique.

Pamela Davis, business unit director, from Keoghs explained: “Keoghs was one of the first law firms to create an insurance fraud team back in 1997 and we have built up immense experience and expertise. Keoghs’ Fraud Academy has been launched to take the service and support delivered to insurers to a new level.

“It’s crucial that we arm all our staff with high-level technical skills, but equally important to recognise that this is just one strand. We’re following a far more holistic approach and aiming to build up a rounded set of skills amongst staff so that Keoghs’ specialist claims unit continues to be an industry leader.”

The firm, which recently announced a 60 per cent increase in the number of suspect insurance claims it has handled on behalf of insurers over the last two years, has doubled the size of its team in the last 18 months.

Keoghs deals with suspect claims for 35 general insurers and several large self-insured organisations. Elements of the fraud academy programme will also be shared with Keoghs insurer clients as part of the firms desire to improve the overall handling of fraud matters in the market.

Keoghs has also launched Keoghs Intelligence Services (KIS) as a separate business unit. KIS delivers a range of fraud intelligence services and tools to insurers. These are aimed at improving the speed of fraud detection and validation, enabling insurers to challenge potentially fraudulent claims more quickly.