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3 Common Insurance Scams & How To Stay Protected

Jul 23, 2017
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Anyone can fall victim to insurance fraud but it can be easily managed with the right practices. By staying vigilant, a lot of hassle, time and money can be saved. Here are a few common insurance scams & how to stay protected.

Vehicle accident fraud

Imagine going for a relaxing afternoon drive around the neighborhood, and suddenly someone jumps out in front of your car, intentionally. Unfortunately, this has happened more times than it should and it is a scam.

The Scam: The perpetrator will say that you hit them as a result of reckless driving to claim an insurance payout.

How To Stay Protected: Install a dash cam to save money and hassle in dealing with these scams.

Know your vehicle

Some insurers have been known to steer customers towards their approved repairer network. Why? The Telegraph UK claims: "Some body shop owners and car makers said they are concerned that insurance companies and their agents are primarily focused on keeping costs down and some fit non-genuine parts or repair instead of replace parts, potentially compromising the safety of drivers."

The Scam: Colluding to maximize profits between businesses.

How To Stay Protected: Learn as much about your vehicle's parts as you can, take pictures when you first purchase the vehicle and make friends with a mechanic so you can get some solid advice (maybe even for free).

Phantom Victims

Some con artists may attempt to file personal injury claims for passengers which weren't in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Thus, the name "phantom victims".

The Scam: The payout (if successful) from multiple victims is higher incentivising the scammer to say that there were other injured members in the vehicle from the accident.

How To Stay Protected: If you did not have a dash cam recording, document everything, take videos, pictures, witnesses' contact details, details of everyone involved in the accident, etc. The more information you have, the better.

General Advice Warning: This advice is general and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the advice is appropriate for you and your personal circumstances. Before you make any decision about whether to acquire a certain product, you should obtain and read the relevant product disclosure statement.

All information above has been provided by the author.

Andy Jamieson, ABN 17 613 588 266