Car Insurance Frauds

Insurance fraud has been in existence since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Insurance crimes range in severity, from slightly exaggerating claims to deliberately causing accidents or damages. Insurance fraud poses a significant problem and the government is making efforts to deter such activities.

Fraud car claims cost the insurance industry a huge sum every year. About 90 percent of auto insurance fraud is the result of claims padding (which means to add damages, injuries and fictitious passengers to insurance claims). The other 10 percent of insurance fraud comes from organized accident-staging.

Innocent victims like private motorists, truck drivers, etc. are targeted by organized auto-accident rings. These rings make an “accident” happen by setting up innocent people for a rear-end collision. Reporting that your car has been stolen when you really hid it in the woods is a good example of false claim.

Even if one never files a claim, lying on the application for insurance is still accountable for fraud case. Using forged documents for claiming is also a fraud case.

Here are a few tips on how to deal with potential scammers and other enemies of insurance claims:

• Get a police report even for a minor accident. This makes it difficult for cheaters to file a false claim if they have to deal with the facts of an officer’s report.
• It is advisable to keep a camera in your glove box. A picture is worth a thousand lies and can stop a scammer from making fraud claims.
• Call your own tow truck and avoid business with crooked repair shops.