Investigation agency for insurers: digital claims fact-finding

When you suspect fraud, you need facts recorded in a way that is built to hold up with your special investigations unit, with the complaints board and in court. NCRB delivers the digital part of that investigation: open sources, online behaviour, business connections and money flows. We document what we find. The claims determination stays with you.

Discuss a file → View our supplier file

The lightest step first

A personal investigation must be proportionate, and the lightest means comes first. Research in open sources is almost always lighter than surveillance or neighbourhood enquiries. That makes digital investigation a logical first step: it often provides enough clarity on its own, in either direction. Sometimes it confirms a suspicion, sometimes it dispels it. We report both outcomes in the same way.

What we do not do: Surveillance, interviews with the persons involved, and neighbourhood enquiries. If those are still needed after our work, our report is structured to hand over to your own investigators or a surveillance agency.

The files we are engaged for

• Injury and liability: Activities and work that are visible online, set against the reported limitations. Targeted and time-bound, no continuous monitoring.
• Income protection and disability: Side activities, businesses and sources of income that were not reported.
• Motor: Connections between the parties in a suspected staged collision, earlier advertisements of the vehicle, mileage and public signs of earlier damage, such as listings mentioning damage.
• Fire, burglary and theft: Existence and origin of the claimed goods, online sale of items reported as stolen, financial position of the business around the loss date.
• Travel and valuables: Authenticity of proofs of purchase, public signs of earlier damage, and the goods offered for sale after the loss date.
• Commercial lines and underwriting: Ownership and control, involvement in earlier insolvencies, facts not disclosed at application.
• Organized fraud: Network analysis across multiple claims and policyholders.

More on the service: Insurance Claims Investigation

Further reading: Social Media Investigation for Insurance Claims: What Public Activity Can Reveal
AI and Insurance Fraud: Why Injury Claims Are Becoming Harder to Verify

How an assignment runs

1. Intake and assessment. You share the reasonable suspicion and the investigative question. We assess whether digital investigation is proportionate and useful for it. If it is not, we say so. This first conversation and assessment are free of charge.
2. Investigation plan for approval. Objective, sources, scope in time and volume, turnaround and cost. You approve before we start.
3. Investigation. Only sources we may lawfully consult. No fake accounts to reach restricted profiles, no deception, no hacking.
4. Report. Every finding with source, date and time of capture, screenshot and a reliability level. Facts and interpretation are kept separate. Exculpatory findings are included.
5. Follow-up. Explanation to your handler or counsel. On request, the investigator gives evidence on method and sources.

Turnaround and cost are set out in the investigation plan you approve beforehand; for a well-defined question a first picture is usually available within a few working days.

Safeguards for the data subject

The insured or claimant is not a party to our assignment, but does have rights. Therefore:

• We work under the Dutch Private Security Organisations and Investigation Agencies Act (Wpbr) and the privacy code of conduct that applies to licensed investigation agencies.
• We collect no more than the investigative question requires.
• How and when the data subject is informed, heard and given access is agreed with you per file. Our report is structured so that you can share it with the data subject.
• Registration in the Dutch insurance industry incident and warning registers (Incidentenregister, EVR, Stichting CIS) is your decision under the applicable protocol. We supply the facts on which you can base that decision, not the decision itself.

Supplier file

Everything your procurement and compliance teams need, in one place:

Licence	Wpbr, POB 1737, verifiable with Justis (Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security)
Company	Nederlands Cyber Recherchebureau (NCRB), Chamber of Commerce 74939742, VAT NL002189118B69
Supplier registration	Registered supplier in FSQS-NE (Hellios), the supplier qualification system used by Dutch banks and insurers. Registration number available on request.
Who does the work	Rik V., licensed investigator since 2019 and your fixed point of contact. Full name at intake and in the engagement letter; conflict check available beforehand.
Third parties	Only vetted specialists from a fixed network, under the responsibility of NCRB, under confidentiality and with your knowledge. One contract, one report, one point of contact.
Qualifications	OSC (Open Source Certified, OSMOSIS Association) and Registered Open Source Expert (International Anti-Crime Academy, IACA)
Complaints procedure	Complaints procedure under Article 18 Rpbr

Frequently asked questions

Does NCRB also conduct surveillance?

No. We do digital investigation only. That is deliberate: it is the lighter means and it requires a different specialization.

Does NCRB draw a conclusion on the claim?

No. We establish facts and state how reliable each finding is. Whether there is fraud and what it means for the claim is your assessment.

Do you monitor someone continuously online?

No. We investigate a defined question and period. Systematically following a person is a heavier means and rarely proportionate.

What if the investigation finds nothing, or clears the insured?

Then that is what the report says. An exculpatory outcome is also an outcome, and it prevents an unjustified rejection.

What does it cost?

The first conversation and a short feasibility check are free of charge. You then receive an investigation plan with a fixed scope and price, or a cost ceiling, before we start. For portfolio work we agree fixed terms per type of investigation.

Does NCRB work for insurers outside the Netherlands?

Yes. We take on assignments for insurers abroad, in English and fully under the GDPR.