Khaberni - The Jordan Insurance Companies Union, in collaboration with CRIF Jordan for Credit Information (CRIF Jordan), and in partnership with the Central Bank, held a specialized workshop with broad participation from insurance companies, aiming to shed light on the importance of credit reports and their role in supporting the decisions of insurance companies, improving risk management, and early detection of financial distress or fabricated claims.
The event featured the participation of the Union's General Manager, Dr. Moayad Club, the Executive Director of the Insurance Business Supervision at the Central Bank of Jordan, Ms. Rana Tahboob, the General Manager of CRIF Jordan, Dr. Ahmad Amoudi, and several representatives and experts from the sector.
Dr. Club stated that organizing the workshop is part of the Union's direction to enhance risk management tools in insurance companies through relying on accurate data and advanced credit analysis, pointing out that the credit report has become a scientific, neutral tool for making correct decisions instead of previous estimative methods.
He added that the Central Bank has recently emphasized the importance of insurance companies providing accurate databases related to vehicle accidents and various types of insurance, due to their crucial role in building decisions based on realistic and reliable information.
He confirmed that the next phase will witness the creation of a comprehensive database at the sector level, under the supervision of the Central Bank, which enhances the protection of personal data and ensures its use only for legitimate professional purposes according to the data protection law.
In turn, Ms. Tahboob stated that the Central Bank of Jordan fully supports this direction and considers the insurance sector a strategic partner in the national financial stability system.
She explained that the use of credit reports has become a practical necessity, especially in the context of lifting the judicial protection on checks, which requires the existence of accurate assessment tools to help companies study clients before granting facilities or repayment plans.
She added that credit reports provide comprehensive information about clients' financial behavior, and help insurance companies make more objective pricing and risk decisions, whether in vehicle insurance, health insurance, or life insurance, confirming that the Central Bank encourages insurance companies to expand the use of these tools within the framework of developing their businesses and services.
In turn, Dr. Amoudi explained that the relationship between credit risk and the number of insurance claims is a close, scientifically and practically studied one, noting that individuals with low credit ratings are more likely to submit frequent or fabricated insurance claims due to financial pressures or lack of compliance.
He confirmed that credit reports help insurance companies detect unusual patterns in customer behavior, and accurately determine the risk level before providing services.
Amoudi mentioned that CRIF Jordan currently covers more than 11.6 million contracts and 2.89 million records with a matching rate of 91%, and gathers its data from banking sectors, microfinance, financial leasing, government lending funds, and telecommunications companies, confirming that incorporating the insurance sector will complete this system, and provide data that help reduce fabricated claims and enhance the technical solvency of companies.
Regarding the mechanism of insurance companies joining CRIF's services, Amoudi explained that each insurance company can determine its needs according to its business size and the nature of its products, then commence technical development and data supply operations to activate the service directly.
He confirmed that the data supply process does not require any human intervention, as it is done electronically through the integration of systems between the parties, ensuring the highest levels of security and accuracy.
Regarding the required data, Amoudi clarified that some information provided to CRIF is not classified as high-risk, but is necessary to verify the identity of a person or institution and ensure the accuracy of the bill or financial commitment.
He pointed out that the required file is very simple, extracted from the company's institutional system automatically, and sent to the CRIF platform without any personal intervention, while this process operates around the clock, and systems automatically reject any incorrect data until corrected.
He added that CRIF's experience in dealing with banking, telecommunications, commercial finance, and microfinance sectors has proven that all institutions can easily provide the required data, and the technical side is now very mature in the Jordanian market.
He explained that the system is equipped with smart verification mechanisms that detect errors such as wrong identity numbers or incomplete records and returns them immediately to the company for correction, pointing out that the data undergoes a full verification cycle without human intervention and is subject to continuous supervision by the Central Bank.
Amoudi also discussed the subject of retaining credit data, clarifying that the Central Bank has issued instructions that regulate retention periods according to the type of information; some of it is retained for periods ranging from three to five years, while the retention period for bankruptcy or insolvency data extends to seven years.
He added that the goal of this is to achieve a balance between protecting the institution's right to assess financial performance and ensuring that it does not harm individuals' and institutions' future opportunities.
Regarding returned checks, Amoudi explained that information about them is updated daily through the banks involved in the system, so it appears directly in CRIF reports, allowing insurance companies to continuously monitor their clients' financial behavior.
He confirmed that all parties involved in the system benefit from the same data simultaneously, making the information accurate and up-to-date around the clock.
On his part, the Assistant General Manager and Operations Manager at CRIF Jordan, Fadi Tawabini, provided detailed technical insights about the credit system's operation and the developments the company has experienced in recent years, confirming that CRIF Jordan now possesses a comprehensive data infrastructure covering all financial sectors in the Kingdom.
Tawabini said that the insurance sector does not differ in terms of technical infrastructure from other sectors such as banks, telecommunications companies, microfinance, and financial leasing companies, explaining that joining the CRIF system only requires preparing a simple data file sent electronically via a fully automated system, without any human intervention, followed by immediate integration and verification process around the clock.
He added that CRIF Jordan has developed, over the past years, an advanced system for processing and analyzing credit data, so that credit reports can now be extracted through banking applications and national digital platforms, which facilitates access to accurate and fast data for companies, institutions, and individuals
At the end of the workshop, an extended discussion took place among the representatives of the insurance companies and attendees, covering the technical and legal aspects of data exchange, privacy protection mechanisms, and the importance of integration between financial and insurance sectors within the national credit system.
The meeting concluded with affirmation that the cooperation of insurance companies with CRIF Jordan represents a strategic step towards enhancing the insurance market's efficiency, improving pricing mechanisms and risk management, in line with the regulatory and digital developments led by the Central Bank of Jordan as part of the economic modernization vision.
