Auto Insurance Accident Scams

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Car Insurance Accident Scams

Many car accidents are just insurance scams that consumers end up paying for through higher premiums

You are driving down the street or a highway or freeway and are suddenly involved in an accident. Not just any accident, but a carefully orchestrated and scripted accident where you become the victim of a scheme to dupe your insurance company out of thousands of dollars. Insurance company's country wide spend millions of dollars yearly to defend against misleading car accident claims by individuals looking to reap the benefits of these insurance claims. How do auto insurance scams affect you? Who do you think actually pays for the cost of auto insurance scams? Not the insurance companies, you end up paying along with the rest of American's because the insurance companies raise premiums to compensate for the loss. It is an unfortunate outcome for the honest citizen.

Educate yourself to help prevent possible car accident traps that are practiced today. Contact you insurance provider if you think you have been scammed or witnessed a scam. It is possible that you insurance provider could reward your effort.

Below is a list of scam techniques practiced today by many criminals.

Paper Accident

When a criminal actively solicits others in the auto repair and salvage industry to participate in accidents that only exist on paper. Shady lawyers, doctors and insurance agents are normally part of this as well. The perpetrator will keep the claim lower than 1,000 dollars knowing that most insurance companies do not send investigators to examine a claim at that amount

Hit & Run

This is when a perpetrator reports a factious hit and run to their insurance provider

Swoop & Squat

When a perpetrator abruptly swoops in front of a car and quickly squats or stops. An accomplice moves to the side of the targeted victim to prevent the trapped car from swerving out of the way. The passengers of the squat car all report injuries that are supported later by a doctor or a chiropractor that are in the scam.

Sideswipe

A tactic used in multiple turn lanes at an intersection. A perpetrator will continue to take the multiple left turns until another car suddenly maneuvers into the lane in which the perpetrator suddenly speeds up to force a collision.

T-Bone

This is normally conducted with the absence of any hostile witnesses. The perpetrator waits at an intersection and intentionally rams into a car as it passes. When the police arrive, bogus witnesses are planted to tell the police officer that the victim ran a stop sign or red light.

Wave

A tactic normally conducted in heavy traffic, and when there is a merge. The perpetrator waves to the victim, pretending to yield the right of way. As the victim begins to merge, the perpetrator quickly accelerates to initiate contact. When the police arrive, the perpetrator denies ever giving up the right of way.

Shady Helper

This could happen after an honest accident. A stranger approaches you after an accident and offers numbers to an auto repair shop, lawyer or doctor. This could be a setup. The auto repair shop often pads your repair cost, and a doctor may give you shady treatment or none at all. A lawyer may even try to convince you to sue the insurance company.

Most scams are performed by professionals that run practice drills before actually committing the crime. They are normally very professional and skilled at their craft, but that does not mean you can not take steps from being victimized. Here are some measures that can be taken to shift the advantage to your side.

Keep a disposable camera, paper and pen in your glove department. A picture speaks a thousand words is an old cliché, but it can be very valuable in an accident. After an accident, take unlimited pictures of every car including the passengers. Get as much information down on paper about every participant in the accident including witnesses. The pictures along with the note taking will leave little room for the perpetrators to lie about damage to their vehicle and persons after the fact. If you think an accident has been staged, get good details about the accident!

What you should do if involved in an Automobile Accident

Exchange information with the driver.

Drivers License, vehicle registration and proof of insurance

Count the number of people in the car and get their:

Names
Address
Telephone Number
Make note if they were wearing seatbelts
Did they act injured only after the police arrived?

Get the names, address and phone numbers of anyone that witnessed the accident

Call the police if it seems staged!

This is all good information to know, but why should I care about helping the insurance companies catch these criminals if I am not the victim? This is a good question that many citizens ask themselves. Why do you want to help deter insurance fraud crime? Because you, the honest citizen pays for the cost, not the insurance company or the criminal. The burden of cost is transferred from the insurance company next time your insurance premiums increase.

What these auto insurance scams can cost you

Record Blemished - As you know, insurance companies keep a record of personal driving records to measure the risk of insuring motorists. The driving record is what determines your eligibility to be insured by the insurance company. Whether an accident staged or not, your record will be affected as well as your driving record.

Victims Terrorized, Killed - Staged accidents for insurance claims is very hazardous to your health. It only takes one mistake by you or the perpetrators to take your life or your loved ones.

Premiums increased - Everyone's auto insurance premiums rise because insurance companies pass the cost of bogus insurance claims to honest citizens.