Tim Shaw Insurance Group Blog

Insurance fraud can come in many forms. It can come in the form of an ‘accident stager’, a dodgy repair shop worker, or an opportunistic tow truck driver, but mostly, it comes in the form of drivers exaggerating their insurance claims. Every motorist is a victim of insurance fraud including you. You are paying more for your Naples auto insurance auto insurance because of how much fraud costs the insurance industry.

There are some steps you can take to minimize the risk of insurance fraud if you’re unlucky enough to be involved in an accident.

After an accident, always call your insurance company. You should be able to get help organizing a tow truck to transport the vehicle to a reputable repairer. If police will be attending, don’t sign any tow agreements before they arrive. There are a few tow truck drivers who scour the streets for accidents, and pounce on victims, offering their services and charging exorbitant prices.

It’s also important to ensure you deal with a reputable body shop; and again your insurer can advise on this. While most repair shops do the right thing, a disreputable repairer may do an inferior job or use cheap or second hand parts to maximize profit, while claiming for high quality parts from your insurer.

Exaggerated injuries and damage are other areas where opportunists may try to take advantage of an accident. Make notes about the extent of damage and injuries after an accident as this may help your insurer to identify discrepancies later.

While you may not be able to prevent unscrupulous people trying to take advantage of your Naples auto insurance policy, you can certainly take steps to stop them from succeeding. With Tim Shaw Insurance Group, Inc., we can help you with whatever coverage questions you have!