The insurance companies like to tell you how they are investigating fraud. And, boy, are they investigating it. If you have a questionable claim, they come after you. (I admit it – I used to go after questionable claims hard. But we all learn and change, right?)
About.com has an article about insurance fraud. They give a pretty good discussion of the types of fraud in automobile accidents. They even go so far as to list types of fraud.
How much should you worry about being a victim of insurance fraud in an automobile accident? I go against the conventional wisdom here, and I will tell you that I dont think its as big an issue in auto accidents as the insurance companies try to make it into. Insurance fraud happens – absolutely. But, in my experience as an insurance adjuster, fraud happens in one of several ways:
- People fake accidents. In other words, the accident never happened.
- People who get in accidents and see doctors who do not actually treat them
- People who stage accidents with the other party
- Stolen cars that are not actually stolen
You cannot protect yourself from the professional frauds. They work at this and come up with new scams faster than anyone else can even think of them. But, this is not a topic that you should lose sleep over.