When you buy yourself a car insurance policy, the policy is usually directed to you and not the insurance company. The reason you buy the policy is for you to be provided protection and coverage from the company in case of an accident. However sometimes, there are many scams you may have to undergo with your car insurance policy.
Philosophers consider insurance to be a 'tragedy of the commons' where though the system was built for helping you, at times the burden of your protection is passed on to all around you. The main reason for an insurance scam to stem is when the insurance company falls in financial trouble.
When in financial trouble, the insurance company turns to its customers to help bail them out. It is easy to create scams with the simple, one-size-fits all laws that exist in insurance. The rear-end collision usually finds the rear car at fault for the accident.
However, those intending to create a scam will look around for a Mercedes to slam brakes on and cause a rear end collision. With this, they can file a claim against the other driver wherein the supposed 'victim' disappears after the accident to cause some additional damage to the car. In fact, he may also make claims that there were more injured passengers in the car than there actually was in the car.
In such cases, if you were in the Mercedes, paying for the repairs won't matter much. However it is paying for the physical pain that the 'victim' goes through that proves to be rather expensive. There are many crooked body shop owners, lawyers and doctors who will be able to pull off these stints successfully to make everything look to be at your fault.
There are also some fake helpers who just spring up from nowhere at the accident scene at the right moment. They may look like a savior to you at the moment; however, he may also be involved in the scam and will only end up recommending bogus body shops or physicians for you, who will in turn, overestimate all the damages incurred through the accident.
When driving, be careful of the very generous motorists who willingly yield to giving you the right of way. However on speeding up, he makes a sideswipe and when the police arrive, he denies giving you the right of way. You then end up paying for the accident instead of the insurance company.
The paper accidents are the most easiest to hike and exaggerate. This is why perpetrators usually keep their claims under $1,000 so that insurers don't actually think of investigating the case. This makes it much easier for the scam to fabricate.
So if you find the cautious driving does not work in preventing accidents, it is better that you document the response, plate numbers of all vehicles and driver's licenses of all people involved in the accident. If possible, take photos and call cops immediately. And if the other person still lies, make sure he continues in front of the law so that if anything crops up, things prove to be easier to fight in law.
