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How can I make my car look damaged enough to file a claim?

Hypothetically, if I needed to make my car look so damaged that the claims adjuster would declare it totaled, how would I do that? Insurance companies make so much money and things at home have been really tight. They won't notice one extra claim payout.

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Shannon Martin · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Times are hard and money is tight across the board right now, I get it. But so do insurance companies and their investigators.
Even though we are dealing with hypotheticals here, committing insurance fraud is never a good idea.
If you were to destroy your own car to get the claim money, you would be committing a crime that could result in extremely expensive fines or even jail time.
Statistically, during challenging economic times, crime and fraud rates increase dramatically. Companies are prepared for this, especially the insurance industry, where people try to put in fraudulent claims on life and
car insurance
policies all of the time.
Claims agents are trained to look for indications of fraud, so here are just a hand full of indicators that could kick off an investigation:
  • Are you too calm or too excited about the type of claim you are filing?
  • What other claims have you filed in the past?
  • Are you currently unemployed or have they lost a job recently?
  • Are you behind on your car payment? How much and for how long?
  • Are you behind on rent and/or mortgage payments? How much and for how long?
  • What did the neighbors see and hear?
  • Is this type of claim consistent in your rating territory?
When insurance companies have to payout and investigate fraudulent claims, it increases the rates for all of their customers, which is why they take it so seriously.
When they discover the claim is fake, they can:
  • Cancel your insurance policy
  • Sue you for the cost they spent investigating your claim
  • Press charges
  • File this with the NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau), making it hard for you to get any time of insurance for the rest of your life.
If your insurance is too expensive now, look for a
cheaper car insurance
policy!
Give
Jerry
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