Common Auto Insurance Frauds Some crooked individuals see insurance fraud as a way to get a big payday with a simple white lie or two. Luckily for society, however, our nation does not take too kindly to insurance fraud of any kind including auto insurance. Insurance fraud is a criminal act punishable by the full weight of the law, including jail time and some serious fines. But it is not only the insurance companies that these insurance fraud laws are designed to protect because insurance fraud, despite claims to the opposite, are not victimless crimes. Many individual citizens have fallen prey to insurance scams and have had to pay the consequence. Because insurance fraud has the potential to inflict damage on more than just the insurance companies, it is important that private citizens understand some of the most popular auto insurance scams in use today by con artists across the nation. Following an auto accident there is often repairs to the vehicle that will need to be made. But one of the most common car insurance scams is pulled off by shady auto repair shops and body shops.
Crooked Repair Services Crooked auto repair services and shops will purposely overcharge both the client and their insurance company for unnecessary repairs. Because there are some auto repair shops that will exaggerate repair costs in order to take a few more dollars from the insurance company and from their clients, an individual in need of any car repairs should consider using a trusted mechanic for all of their auto repair needs. Another common fraud that ordinary citizens can fall victim to is scheming windshield replacement con artists. In this fraud, the typical scene is that of a con man approaching persons in parking lots and offering a free windshield replacement that will be entirely charged to the insurance company. While this may sound enticing to some, the truth is that often a faulty and potentially dangerous windshield will be installed in place of a quality windshield. And the con man may use the victim’s insurance information to file multiple claims, resulting in a number of complications between the subscriber and the insurance company as they sort out the fraud.
Other auto insurance scams are simply downright dangerous for the victim. Fraud criminals who are targeting a free payday from another’s insurance policy will stage accidents, take advantage of a driving mistake to cause an accident or otherwise lure their victims into an auto accident.
Ramming A common fraud of this kind would be for a criminal to intentionally ram a car that has strayed from their lane or who is merging. In this way, the criminal can claim innocence and charge their victim’s insurance company for thousands of dollars. To avoid these and other auto insurance frauds, an insurance subscriber in Frisco should put a high value on integrity while searching for an insurance company. This is because an auto insurance company with integrity will be able to work with the subscriber should the subscriber fall victim to an insurance fraud. Talk with an independent auto insurance agent in Frisco to find the best quality deals for auto insurance in Frisco. Photo Credit: Mark Turnauckas, Drew Leavy