Deepfakes and AI-manipulated media are quickly becoming a practical problem for insurers, rather than a hypothetical one, and in many cases demand action.
The easy way to decide whether you need protection isn’t to debate how “realistic” deepfakes are. It’s to ask: Where could manipulated photos, videos, or documents change a claim decision, underwriting outcome, or payout?
Use the five questions below as a quick self-assessment. If you answer “yes” to even one or two, it’s worth taking action.
1) Do you accept photos or videos as proof of damage or loss?
If your FNOL and claims workflows rely on customer-submitted images/videos (auto damage, property damage, inventory loss, injury evidence), you’re exposed to a fast-growing risk: synthetic or altered “evidence.”
Why it matters: Manipulated media can push a claim over the threshold for approval, severity, or coverage eligibility, especially in high-volume environments where speed is the priority.
What to do: Add automated media validation at intake so suspicious submissions get flagged before payout momentum starts.
2) Are you pushing toward self-service and straight-through processing?
Digital claims portals and mobile-first intake are great for cost and CX, and as a bonus, they reduce human friction. Unfortunately, fraudsters love that.
Why it matters: Straight-through processing only works when the inputs are trustworthy. Deepfakes and media fraud specifically target the evidence layer that automation depends on.
What to do: Pair STP with automated authenticity checks so you can keep speed and control risk.
3) Do you process documents that can be easily fabricated or altered?
If you ingest PDFs, document images, repair estimates, invoices, medical records, employment docs, police reports or proof of ownership, you’re operating in a zone where AI tools can fabricate or edit believable paperwork quickly.
Why it matters: Document fraud is often “silent fraud.” It can slip through because it looks complete and professional, and the fraud value may be distributed across many smaller claims.
What to do: Implement document integrity checks (format anomalies, metadata signals, tamper indicators) and escalate only the risky subset.
4) Is your fraud strategy heavily dependent on manual review or SIU capacity?
If you rely on adjusters and SIU teams to spot it during review, you’re fighting a scale problem. AI enables high-volume fraud attempts at low cost, meaning review teams won’t get overwhelmed with the help of automation.
Why it matters: The cost of reviewing every image/video/document manually can exceed the value recovered. The result is either slow claims (bad CX) or missed fraud (bad loss ratio).
What to do: Use automation for triage: let AI screen everything quickly and route only suspicious media to humans with forensic detail.
5) Would a single public deepfake incident create reputational or regulatory risk?
Even if your fraud exposure feels manageable, a deepfake-driven incident can create a different kind of loss: reputational damage, complaints, litigation, or regulatory attention—especially if a customer experience or denial decision is tied to disputed media.
Why it matters: Trust is a balance sheet asset. If policyholders believe claims can be gamed, or wrongly denied, because media can’t be verified, your brand takes the hit.
What to do: Build a defensible verification process with audit-friendly reporting and clear escalation paths.
What a good starting point looks like
You don’t have to rebuild your claims platform to start protecting against deepfakes and media fraud. The most practical approach is:
Add a verification step at intake (claims + underwriting)
Automate triage (green / yellow / red)
Escalate only the riskiest submissions with forensic context
Integrate via UI for teams and API for workflows so adoption is easy
Final Take
If your business decisions depend on photos, videos, or documents—and you’re increasing automation—then deepfake and media fraud protection is quickly becoming table stakes for insurers.
Download our free scorecard / checklist to assess your needs.
If you are ready to get started, contact us to learn more.
