The hard times many of us had to face with the recession have made some people think of “special” ways for getting some extra money. And when every dollar counts, any measure will do. Insurance companies report records in claims these days, typically for small amounts, and there’s a growing number of frauds the carriers have to deal with. Having overwhelming numbers of claims may seem like the perfect way to get a fraud unnoticed, but fortunately for insurance companies it is not so.
Every insurance company has its own special investigation unit, which is usually comprised of people who have experience working in law enforcement domain. And as you’ve guessed it, this unit is dealing with cases when fraud is suspected. Taking into account that fraud is illegal, these guys are just as serious as police detectives and FBA agents – when there’s a crime, they are bloodthirsty for finding out the truth. And that’s what they typically see people trying to get away with:
1. Leaving the car unlocked and the keys in place.
Missing a set of keys when your “car” gets stolen and having no signs of forced entry when it is found will make the investigation unit suspect that you’ve just decided to get rid of your car and get money for it.
2. Blame vandals for setting your auto on fire after spilling some gasoline somewhere near the engine.
You may think that the fire will destroy all the evidence. Well, there are things like computer simulations, pattern analysis and other ways to investigate such cases that will get you red-handed.
3. Visit your doctor after the accident too often.
Some doctors will be quite nice to you and provide medical attention even when it’s not needed anymore, for a special price of course. Needless to say that there are medical experts in investigation units, who clearly now how much medical attention does the person need in every particular situation. Besides, insurance companies keep track of the doctors and attorneys who encourage more medical bills to be paid by the carrier.
4. Filing a claim for an accident that didn’t happen.
If there’s no damage to your car, but you claim to have been hit, insurance company investigators will analyze all the data and clearly see if you are telling the truth or not. And you’d better be telling the truth, otherwise expect to get sued anytime soon.
5. Add some people to the car, claiming they were there during the accident.
Remember that accident reports and accounts are analyzed thoroughly and if the information differs, investigators will get very suspicious. It’s not only your report that is read when the claim get filed, the police report, witness report and the other party’s report are also taken into account. Read the rest of this entry »