More tricks - How car owners cheat their insurers

 

A list of owners' favorite auto insurance cost-cutting tricks is topped by those who lowball their mileage on insurance applications.

At some insurance companies 60% of the vehicles insured are claimed to commute just three miles a day or less. Such inaccuracies are caught by comparing policy applications against gigantic databases containing motor vehicle records, professional registries, prison addresses, census reports and smog data. In 2005, 17% of cars and trucks racked up more than 20,000 miles, yet owners of only 4% admitted that much driving.

Drivers often try to use a phony address -- for instance, a post office box or a mail drop in a neighborhood less prone to collisions and break-ins. Parents may let grown children use their address rather than pay higher premiums for their big-city addresses.

Another favorite scam is inventing Social Security numbers on applications. If yours, for some reason, reflects poorly on you, you might construct a new set of numbers for the occasion. Not much creativity is required, apparently: The most popular phony Social Security number used is 123-12-3123.

So-called affinity discounts are popular targets, too. Certain groups -- members of the Elks, perhaps, university alumni associations, Costco or the military -- are statistically lower risk than others. Insurers offer discounts accordingly, and car owners may claim membership in clubs where they've never set foot.

Sometimes fraud can be traced back to agents who sell the policies, apparently coaching their customers in hopes of securing their business and offering a lower rate than the competition. One such case involved the discounts some insurers offer for vehicle safety features such as air bags, seat belts, headrests, anti-lock brakes and traction control. Years ago, when air bags and red rear-window safety lights first appeared, an agent sought discounts for them for every vehicle he wrote insurance for. He even had a 1965 Volkswagen with an air bag discount. Of course, there were no air bags on a 1965 Volkswagen.

Commentary: You don’t want to try these tricks. The test of car insurance coverage is after an accident, and the worst feeling is having your insurance coverage questioned or denied after an accident because you schemed to try to save on your insurance premium; your personal assets may be at risk if your coverage is cancelled because of fraud. If for some reason your insurance coverage is denied after an accident, please, please, please don't go it alone but get yourself an experienced accident/personal injury attorney.

You don’t want to try these tricks. The test of car insurance coverage is after an accident, and the worst feeling is having your insurance coverage questioned or denied after an accident because you schemed to try to save on your insurance premium; your personal assets may be at risk if your coverage is cancelled because of fraud. If for some reason your insurance coverage is denied after an accident, please, please, please don't go it alone but get yourself an experienced accident/personal injury attorney.

 

From: Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)