How to Protect Yourself From Auto Insurance Fraud

The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud estimates that, in total, fraudulent claims cost US consumers more than $ 80 billion a year. The frustrating thing is that the insured must also bear the costs of false claims, not to mention the cost of investigating and combating their illegal activities. People who defraud insurance companies in the future will affect innocent consumers through higher insurance premiums. So, ultimately, preventing insurance fraud can potentially help lower auto insurance premiums.

What is auto insurance fraud?

Auto insurance fraud is the second white glove crime that generates the most monetary loss in the United States. Insurance fraud is a crime perpetuated by various types of criminals, from people considered honest who “modify” the truth to organized crime gangs who commit millions of dollars in fraud. Fraudulent cases related to auto insurance can be:

• Give false information in an application to get insurance coverage or a lower premium
• File a claim with inflated or inflated values ​​to get a higher payment or to cover a deductible
• Make a false claim to stolen or damaged property, or increase the value of stolen items
• Simulate an auto accident that results in false claims for damages
• Hire someone to steal or burn a vehicle in order to collect the money from an auto insurance or avoid expensive repairs

What is the strategy to prevent auto insurance fraud?

The Strategy to prevent auto insurance fraud includes:

• Prevent fraud through a thorough examination of the information presented in the applications
• Designate an expert team, our special investigation unit, to combat insurance fraud
• Donate special resources to law enforcement agencies to help capture auto thieves, and invest in additional technology to detect potentially false claims
• Partner with anti-fraud groups such as the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the
• Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, in addition to law enforcement agencies and other groups

How can you protect yourself from auto insurance fraud?

Here we are suggesting some simple steps to increase your protection against insurance fraud:

• Do not follow another car at a reckless distance. Sometimes criminals take advantage of that to fake a collision.
• Call the police to report an accident and get a report with the officer’s name even if the damage is slight. This prevents criminals intentionally damaging a car after the incident, in order to collect a claim for a larger amount.
• Use a disposable camera or phone camera to document any damage caused by an accident, and the number of passengers in the other vehicles.
• Record details of the accident, including names, addresses, plaque and driver’s license plate numbers, witnesses and any other information that may be important.
• Avoid people who suddenly appear at the scene of the accident and try to get in touch with doctors and lawyers.
• Beware of doctors who urge you to file a claim for personal injury after an accident, especially if you are not injured.
• Report the accident as soon as possible to your insurance company, even if you are not the guilty party.

If you want more information about auto insurance fraud and how to protect yourself, visit insurancefraud.org.