Capita Insurance Services’ corporate fraud investigator programme has been awarded the prestigious Training Programme of the Year Award at the annual Insurance Times Awards 2006. Capita’s investigation services team won the award for creating a training framework which was fully accredited by the fraud management studies unit at the University of Teesside, led by Professor Alan Doig.
This unique training programme was initially developed for Capita’s own fraud investigators to meet the growing need for the professional fraud investigator role within the insurance industry. However, following its success in the development of staff, it was presented to the Teesside Business School for approval. Focusing on the need for investigators to act with integrity and to carry out their work in an ethical manner, the framework was assessed by the university before being restructured to fit academic qualification criteria, and launched as a fully accredited formal qualification.
The Insurance Times panel of judges commented: “In this category the judges felt the winner had really placed training at the heart of its own business and had also created an initiative that would eventually benefit many more people in the industry to fight fraud.”
John Freeman, director of investigation services, said: “We identified that no-one was offering a suitable course for our purpose, especially when it came to practical application and relevance across various sectors. This is the first training programme of its kind in the UK and our aim was to define the exact qualities that add value to the role of a fraud investigator and allow others to share best practice. We are thrilled to receive this award – it is a great credit to everyone who has invested their time and expertise into the programme over the last two years.”
Together with the University of Teesside, Capita is now exploring a series of bespoke qualifications for fraud and economic crime management and investigation – taking the individual as far as postgraduate level.