Staged auto body accidents are on the rise, endangering the lives and boosting the car insurance rates of innocent drivers who may unwittingly think they're at fault. Questionable claims from staged accidents increased 46.3 percent from the year 2007 through 2009, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, or NICB, a nonprofit agency in Des Plaines, IL, funded by 1,100 property and casualty insurance providers nationwide to fight car insurance fraud and automobile theft. Here are some tips from Charlie's Columbia CARSTAR in Columbia, Illinois based upon insight from the NICB. If you've got an auto body accident in Columbia, Waterloo, Millstadt, Freeburg, or New Athens, Illinois, you will be glad that you were prepared with this important auto body repair info.
Auto insurance fraud added $4.8 billion to $6.8 billion to auto injury claim payments in 2007, according to the Insurance Research Council's November 2008 study "Fraud and Buildup in Auto Injury Insurance Claims: 2008 Edition." NICB investigations in Florida, New York, and California uncovered sophisticated, multistate rings that included the staged accident participants and doctors, chiropractors, lawyers, and even auto body shop owners that profited from the auto insurance scam.
Multiple claims for a single accident
One common element runs though the majority of staged accidents. The "victim" vehicle will have three to four passengers who will file medical claims against the victim's auto insurance company in addition to a car damage claim. Stagers often target younger ladies and older adult drivers as they enter or exit a shopping mall or parking garage. If you are talking on a mobile phone or appear otherwise distracted while driving, you're a perfect mark.
There will be somebody sitting there at the curb and you pull up and they will wave you on by. The next thing you know, you are getting blocked and then getting clobbered. Don't always assume that it was an accident; it may well have been intentional.
Avoiding a staged accident
Here are six tricks from Charlie's Columbia CARSTAR on how to avoid becoming a victim of a staged accident:
Auto insurance fraud added $4.8 billion to $6.8 billion to auto injury claim payments in 2007, according to the Insurance Research Council's November 2008 study "Fraud and Buildup in Auto Injury Insurance Claims: 2008 Edition." NICB investigations in Florida, New York, and California uncovered sophisticated, multistate rings that included the staged accident participants and doctors, chiropractors, lawyers, and even auto body shop owners that profited from the auto insurance scam.
Multiple claims for a single accident
One common element runs though the majority of staged accidents. The "victim" vehicle will have three to four passengers who will file medical claims against the victim's auto insurance company in addition to a car damage claim. Stagers often target younger ladies and older adult drivers as they enter or exit a shopping mall or parking garage. If you are talking on a mobile phone or appear otherwise distracted while driving, you're a perfect mark.
There will be somebody sitting there at the curb and you pull up and they will wave you on by. The next thing you know, you are getting blocked and then getting clobbered. Don't always assume that it was an accident; it may well have been intentional.
Avoiding a staged accident
Here are six tricks from Charlie's Columbia CARSTAR on how to avoid becoming a victim of a staged accident:
- Avoid tailgating. Recognize the "swoop and squat" situation in which a driver suddenly swoops in front of you then slams on their brakes, and leave a lot of distance between you and the car in front of you in case the driver slams on his brakes.
- Call the cops even if damage is minimal. A Columbia, IL police report will make it more difficult for a stager to purposely damage their car later to collect a larger claim against your car insurance company.
- Grab a camera or use your cell phone to photograph everything and everybody at the scene. Pay extra attention to the number of people in the other vehicle and the harm to both automobiles.
- Be aware of passers-by who just happen to arrive on the scene, especially if they offer to point you to a doctor, lawyer, or tow-truck company. They may be part of the scheme.
- Stay away from tow-truck drivers that you did not call. They are generally part of this auto insurance con.
- Be wary of doctors who insist that you file a personal injury claim following an accident, especially if you aren't hurt.
