For organisations in the device insurance sector, the cost of device crime and fraud is significant. As devices have become increasingly expensive, more users than ever are taking out mobile insurance; this rise has led to an increase in fraudulent insurance claims. These claims can be as simple as lying about the cause of damage or when the damage occurred, or claiming that a phone was stolen or lost when it wasn’t. In some cases, phone owners attempt to commit fraud by buying multiple policies on the same phone, recovering the money from multiple insurance providers.

How GSMA Device Registry can help insurers

To help deter crime and combat insurance fraud, the GSMA has set up the GSMA Device Registry, enabling organisations in the mobile and related ecosystems to contribute device status information. This includes flagging devices that have been reported lost, stolen and potentially connected with fraud. Carrier networks that contribute to the registry can therefore access this intelligence, and are able to block flagged devices.

This service is very well established and used by many of the world’s largest carrier operators in every corner of the globe. It is now open to mobile phone insurers and is becoming an ever more powerful deterrent in the fight against device crime and fraud.

Benefits include:

• A powerful deterrent to device crime and fraud.
• Increase claim cancellation rates and reduce fraudulent claims by alerting claimants that their reported device will be flagged on the global device registry and so potentially blocked from sale and use by carrier operators worldwide.
• By registering ownership of the device, users increase the likelihood that property will be returned if found by law enforcement agencies.

To avoid insuring stolen or faulty devices, the insurance industry can use our look-up service GSMA Device Check™.

Get in touch

GSMA Device Registry is a global mobile industry initiative to help tackle device crime and fraud. Almost 20 million devices are newly flagged every year. As more and more organisations report their data, the value of this service grows exponentially. The benefits to participate are substantial, we invite you to join.