Detection and Information System of the Swiss insurance companies (HIS)

According to estimates, Swiss private insurers suffer annual losses of up to 10 percent of the insurance benefits paid out in motor vehicle, travel, property and liability insurance due to fraudulent insurance claims. The insured persons ultimately pay for these fraudulent claims via their premiums. Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) wants to counter this unfortunate state of affairs and protect the community of insured persons from insurance fraud as effectively as possible. The HIS Detection and Information System helps it to do so.

Individuals aged 16 and over who have fulfilled at least one reason for registration in a claim are registered in the HIS. Everyone who is registered is informed in writing of their registration by the insurance company carrying out the registration.

HIS is not a freely accessible register. Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) only finds out whether a person is registered if he or she is involved in a new claim and Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) makes an HIS query. Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) is not permitted to make an HIS query outside of the claims processing procedures (e.g. before conclusion of a contract).

Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) can check at any time whether there is an entry in the HIS for a person involved in any claim in the motor vehicle (third-party liability and comprehensive cover), travel, liability (personal and public liability) or property (household contents, buildings and business) insurance sectors. If there is an entry in the HIS, Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) is shown the data listed under «Personal data», namely the identification data of the registered person and the reason for the entry. If Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) receives a corresponding indication from the HIS, it can clarify its obligation to pay benefits in a targeted manner.

No insurance benefits/indemnity will be refused solely on the basis of an entry in HIS. The HIS merely gives Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) an indication that it should assess its obligation to pay benefits/indemnity carefully in the event of a claim.

Every individual involved in a claim in the motor vehicle (third-party liability and comprehensive cover), travel, liability (personal and public liability) or property (household contents, buildings and business) insurance sectors (as a policyholder, insured person, aggrieved party, authorised representative, legal entity, service provider or other person) is entered in the register if he or she fulfils a specific reason for registration. Depending on the reason for registration, not only the person who carried out the act in question himself/herself but also persons who participated in it (analogous application of the criminal-law roles of accomplice, aider and abettor) are registered.

Reasons for registration can be of an insurance-contract or liability-law nature. The reasons for registration in the Detection and Registration System are based on the fact that irregularities discovered in the settlement of claims justify an entry for the purpose of processing future claims in which the person concerned is involved. The reasons for registration are:

1. Breach of the disclosure obligation (Art. 6 (1) of the Swiss Insurance Contract Act (VVG))
2. Fraudulent retroactive cover (Art. 10 (2) VVG)
3. Intentional causation of an insured event (Art. 14 (1) VVG)
4. Increase in risk with the policyholder’s involvement (Art. 28 (1) VVG)
5. Contradictory facts (Art. 39 VVG)/no proof of the insured event under insurance contract law (Art. 8 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB))
6. Fraudulent claims justification (Art. 40 VVG)
7. Fraudulent double/multiple insurance cover (Art. 46b (3) VVG)
8. Alteration of damaged objects with fraudulent intent (Art. 38b (2) VVG)
9. No proof of the event giving rise to liability under civil liability law (Art. 8 ZGB)
10. Intentional deception upon conclusion of the contract (Art. 28 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR))

All entries are automatically deleted from the HIS seven years after the date of the claim.

If the requirements for registration are not fulfilled or the registered data is incorrect, the persons affected have a right to have the entry deleted or corrected.

Registered persons may submit their request for deletion and/or correction to Allianz Suisse (ELVIA).

In addition to the insurance companies which participate in the HIS (including Allianz Suisse), the following two companies are also involved:

• SVV Solution AG operates the HIS in Switzerland. It bears sole responsibility for the system’s operation. SVV Solution AG is a service company of the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA).
• Informa HIS GmbH, which has its registered office in Wiesbaden (Germany), is the IT provider (system operator). Informa HIS GmbH is the order processor of SVV Solution AG.

Only address data – without first names and surnames – is transmitted to and processed by the IT provider informa HIS GmbH in Germany. The accuracy of the address data is checked in order to ensure quality in the operation of the HIS.

The following personal data is processed in the HIS:

• First name
• Current and old name
• Current and old address(es)
• Current and old telephone number(s)
• Current and old e-mail address(es)
• Date of birth
• Reason(s) for registration
• The role of the registered person (policyholder, aggrieved party, authorised representative of a legal entity, insured person, service provider, other persons such as motor vehicle driver or person responsible for the loss/damage)
• Data on the claim: type of claim, claims number, date of claim, insurance line, date on which the claim was registered in the insurer’s system, location of claim

All interested persons have a right to obtain information about their own data entered in the HIS. As part of a request for personal information, all persons can ask whether they have an entry in the HIS, whether queries have already been made about them and which of their personal data is saved in the HIS. Requests for personal information must be sent in writing to the operator of the HIS (SVV Solution AG, Conrad-Ferdinand-Meyer-Strasse 14, CH-8022 Zurich) along with a copy of an official form of identification (passport, ID card) and details of the postal address for the written reply. In addition, every person has the right to request information from Allianz Suisse (ELVIA) about its processing of personal data.

For reasons of data protection, no information is provided over the telephone as clear identification is not possible on the phone. Applicants must provide the following information for identification purposes:

• Surname and maiden name if applicable
• First name(s)
• Date of birth
• Current postal address (no P.O. Box addresses)

The right to object to further processing and the right to deletion, correction, restriction of processing and data transfer of all own data stored in the HIS: if the conditions for registration are not fulfilled or if registered data is incorrect, the registered person may submit a legal request for deletion or correction to the registering insurance company. If no agreement is reached, the registered person can contact the Swiss Ombudsman of Private Insurance and Suva free of charge or initiate civil proceedings. The aforementioned rights can be asserted with the registering insurance company and/or with SVV Solution AG. Civil proceedings can only be initiated with the competent authority.

You can find further information about the HIS via the following link (in German): www.svv.ch/de/his