A Staged Accident…They are a Stagin’ and You’ll be Payin’
You wouldn’t fake an accident to try and steal money from an insurance company, would you?
Well, unfortunately, there are people who are master minds at staging vehicle accidents to commit insurance fraud. Usually, staged accidents involve two parties who are in on the scam-one scammer hits a car full of people who ultimately are hurt and milk their injuries for big checks from the insurance companies. But, these scammers are smarter than you think. Wait for it… they would even stage an accident against innocent drivers, such as yourself. Take a minute to let that settle. At Capitol Collision Repair, we believe it is important for you to recognize the signs of a staged accident in order to avoid raised insurance rates and money out of your pocket.
Doom of the Forward Wave: This occurs when you are trying to merge into traffic, say on the freeway, and a sweet, nice person waves you forward, giving you the right of way. They’re nice and innocent until they crash into the back of you and blame you for the accident. They even tell the insurance company they never let you in. We can all tell who is to blame here-YOU, not THEM.
Then Ladies and Gents, we have the Swoop and Squat: This type of staged accident happens when a vehicle suddenly pulls up in front of you and slams on the brakes, resulting in a rear-end accident.
It important that you try to avoid distracted driving. According to the Insurance Information Institute, accident stagers prey on drivers who are not paying attention. So, be sure to avoid tailgating and to be aware of all your surroundings.
If an accident does occur, here are some tips that will hopefully help you out.
- Always, always, always call the police. Even little fender benders need to be reported.
- Try to count the number of passengers in the car. It’s crazy how there could be one person in the car, but they tell the insurance company there were five people. Phantom people are hard to see we guess.
- Be wary of the passengers in the other vehicle. If they seem fine but are suddenly on their death bed when the police arrive, Houston, you have a problem.
- Use your cell phone camera for taking pictures of the individuals in the accident and of the vehicle damage. Pictures are free so take as many as possible from different angles, etc. You would rather be safe than sorry.
- Lastly, if your car is not drivable, allow the police department on the scene to call the tow company with whom the city has a contract. The time they have to get there is much faster than calling your own tow truck. It is very important that if you already have a body shop
About the author:
Dan Deary is president of Capitol Collision Repair, a Phoenix body shop, now in their 25th year in business in Phoenix AZ
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