How To Avoid Common Car Insurance Scams
Car insurance industry has been targeted by scammers for years, lack of awareness and knowledge cost Americans to lose thousands of dollars every year. Insuring a vehicle to protect against damage & stealing is a vital factor of defending yourself financially. However if you’re not cautious, you may get into the serious trouble without even your first drive.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), insurance scam comes at second-most expensive method of white-collar crime across America, estimating billions of dollars yearly. According to several policyholders, insurance can seem threatening and problematical, and fraudsters consider car insurance as a chance to generate cash from people’s unawareness. Whether by lying outright or overstating the fact, a scammer can fraud car owners as well as insurance businesses out of thousands of dollars.
Agent Fraud
As soon as you purchase a car, you are on a target for scams. If an insurance agent is dishonest, he could steal your money by failing to execute the insurance plan he agreed with you and keeping your insurance payment in his pockets. As a results, if you have a car accident, you will have to pay the money again which you have paid earlier to the insurance agent.
The ideal way to prevent agent fraud is to examine the agent wisely. Do not let someone intimidate or haste you into signing a contract before you are prepared, and indorse your coverage by the insurance provider. Investigate the top car insurance firms. Gather and match numerous auto estimates from a selected group of providers.
Fake Injury Claims
Let’s take an example, imagine one day you are in rush to go to home or office and you ended with fender bender, both you and the other driver are safe, but, few days later the other driver claims injuries. In that situation fake injury claim can cost you extra money to pay.
If get into the any situation like this, immediately report accident to the police, even if it is minor or not harmful, by doing this you will be in a better legal position and protected by law if you have police report to provide.
Falsified Car Repairs
Most of us don’t know what’s happing under the hood of a car, lack of technical knowledge and sense of saving little money, we end up to the mechanics whom we are not familiar with. Just for sake of saving few bugs, it may ended with costing more on your pocket than you though sooner or later.
Always take your car to your insurance company’s recommended car repair shops even if it is minor, in order to avoid substandard parts or poor professionalism.
Staged Accidents
Staged accidents are complicated schemes. Scammers will wisely create an accident. False eyewitnesses, doctors and legal consultants may offer deceptive evidence or information. Their joint efforts make it problematic for the guiltless driver to verify what actually occurred.
The most effective ways to encounter such situation is to install dash cam in your vehicle, on the bases of the video recording evidence may save you from these types of scammers.
Be careful on fake helpers/sympathizers
If you have an accident, be careful of individuals who try to help you while you’re waiting for the police to arrive. These “so called helpers” might be opportunist. These types of people may be doctors, lawyers, insurance agents or consultants, who try to get your personal details and offer you help with your insurance claim.
Do not share you’re any personal or insurance information with them, always contact your insurance provider for any sort and insurance claim or legal help.