What’s Insurance Fraud Got to Do with My Insurance Quotes?

The average American is an honest person and wouldn’t even consider committing insurance fraud, right? Not necessarily. When you go to compare car insurance quotes with multiple companies and you see that all rates are higher than you are used to, you might be living in a area with a high incidence of fraud.

There are a few people involved in criminal rings set up to rig accidents and claim money for bogus injuries or damage. But, it is much more common that someone involved in an accident embellish their suffering just a little bit when they are not at fault for an accident. After all, what’s a little “pain and suffering” money from a huge insurance company?

Based on all the fraud that occurs in some form or another, insurance companies have lost about $18 Billion dollars. How do you think they make that up? Yes, on your insurance premium, even if you are the most honest Joe out there. The guy living three doors down is pretending to be out of work for car injuries, yet you see him playing basketball with his friends; he is causing you to see more increases as you compare car insurance quotes.

Buildup

Higher costs for medical bills and pain and suffering payments are going out to people who are exaggerating their injuries. This represents a big portion of fraud; if it is prevalent in your area, you will see prices across the board increase when you compare car insurance quotes.

Staged Accidents

Staged accidents typically involve several people in one car and a medical “clinic” that bills for bogus treatments. Many times these bogus claims include sore backs, strains and sprains—difficult to dispute or prove from a medical standpoint. To compare car insurance quotes in these areas that are more greatly affected you will see higher rates among all your estimates. This is a bigger issue in no-fault or PIP states like Florida, Michigan, Kentucky, New York, and New Jersey.

Underwriting Fraud

This type of fraud happens when car owners falsify information in order to reduce their premium. These can include under-reported mileage, fake garaging addresses in areas that have lower premiums, non-reported commercial use of vehicle, and unreported drivers living in household.

What to do?

Rather than ignoring the issue, be aware of it. If you are aware, you might see some insurance dishonesty going on around you. If this happens to be the case, you can call anonymously to your state department of insurance to report possible fraud. It is up to them to send investigators to check. If everyone were to do this, Americans would see a decrease when they compare car insurance quotes.