| Insurance company’s country wide spends
millions of dollars yearly to defend against misleading
car accident claims by mischievous individuals
looking to reap the benefits of the insurance claims.
How do auto insurance scams affect you? Well not
to mention the obvious possible outcome of death
due to car accident scams gone wrong. Who
do you think actually pays for the cost of the
scams? Not the insurance companies, you pay because the
insurance companies raise premiums to compensate
for the loss. It is an unfortunate outcome for
the honest citizen. What can you do to help yourself
and the insurance companies? 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
solicit 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 When a perpetrator reports
a factious hit and run to their insurance provider.
Swoop and 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!
Below is a good list of details that you should
obtain in an accident.
Exchange information with the driver.
Drivers License, vehicle registration and proof of insurance
Count the number of people in the car and get there:
Name
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 nor the
criminal. The burden of cost is transferred from
the insurance company next time your insurance
premiums increase.
What you pay?
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 Raised – Everyone’s auto
insurance premiums rise because insurance companies
pass the cost of bogus insurance claims to honest
citizens.
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