According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, insurance fraud is the second most common white-collar crime in America. Ensuring your car against theft, damage and accident is a crucial part of protecting yourself financially. However, if you’re not keen you might be the victim of a fake auto accident claim before you hit your first 100miles.
A scam artist is capable of scamming insurance companies and car owners out of thousands of dollars. They can do so by exaggerating the truth, lying, and event staging car accidents. The good news is that your insurer has their own investigator who looks into car accidents to identify fraud. If you’ve been in a car accident in the New Bedford area you should contact a New Bedford auto accident lawyer to review your case. You should also contact your insurance as soon as possible.
What are the two types of insurance fraud?
Hard insurance fraud
This type of fraud is much easier to detect. It is usually an attempt by scammers to steal from the insurance company by faking an injury or staging a car accident. For example, if the driver in front of you purposely hits the brakes and you end up rear-ending them, you might end up being the victim of an insurance scam.
Soft insurance fraud
This type of fraud is much harder to detect especially if you were involved in a serious car accident. For example, they might exaggerate the extent of damage to their car by including a dent that already existed on it as part of the damage. They can also exaggerate their injuries to increase the amount of compensation that they can claim.
What are the most common types of car insurance scams
Fake injury claims
Example
Jane was late to work and was in a rush. She was also trying to recall what the agenda for her first meeting at work was and in a moment of distraction, she rear-ended the car in front of her. When she got out of her car to speak to the other driver they seemed fine but a few days later they claimed to have a whiplash injury. However, after a thorough investigation by Jane’s insurer, they found that the other driver uploaded pictures on their social media pages while they were on a hike two days after they made the injury claim.
While Jane didn’t have to pay for the fake injury claim, it did increase her premium payments. Scammers typically target parents or people who are driving with kids in their car because they are easily distracted and they would like to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
We always advise car accident victims to report their accident to the police If it is a minor accident. Do not be tricked by the other driver to pay them on the spot because the damages are so minor or to avoid reporting the incidents to your insurer or the police. You cannot control what they will do once you settle with them on the spot because some drivers will take your money and still file an injury claim against you.
Staging car accidents
Scammers have been known to come up with carefully choreographed plans to stage an accident. They can even go to the extent of having a fake New Bedford auto accident lawyer, a doctor, and even a fake witness who can provide testimony in a car accident lawsuit. The scheme is so elaborate that it will make it hard for you to prove what really happened unless there are cameras or video footage of the accident.
You should collect as much evidence as possible after your accident to help you win your case. Start by taking as many pictures as possible of the accident and get a copy of the police report and hire an experienced car accident lawyer. A lawyer is especially useful in situations where you would like to acquire video footage of the accident from nearby security cameras.
Hire a New Bedford auto accident lawyer to contest the other driver’s fraudulent claim
If you suspect that the other driver’s car accident injury claim is fake, you should inform your insurer. If the other driver is filing a car accident lawsuit against you, consider discussing your situation with an experienced auto accident lawyer in New Bedford. Contact us today at 508-999-0800 to schedule your free initial consultation.
