8 extreme cases of insurance fraud

Scamming an insurance company can be done in various ways, from phony slip-and-falls to faked deaths. Ultimately, honest consumers and businesses pay for it.

By Jay MacDonald, Bankrate.com

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wade (LuvFreckles)
May 23, 2012 10:34PM
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Knew an old man made his living out of accident claims.  I don't know how many times he was hit by a car.  He would walk into the side of thecar and hit it with his hand.  The last time the car swerved right and nailed him for good.  No more false claims.  No more old man.
mutter5659
May 24, 2012 8:19PM
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Yah, I have to agree, the real crooks are the insurance company.  I have to pay flood insurance of 500.00 a year cause 2 foot of my lot (which is where my mail box sits) is in a flood zone.    I have lived in the house since 1979 and we have never ever had a "flash" flood even thou there has been downpours that have flooded all the non flood zones.  And explain to me why a credit rating effects car insurace.  My daughter has tons of medical bills (cause she cant afford medical insurance on her kids) and now she has to pay double what everyone else does for car insurace.  Personally, the crooks out there are the insurance companies and those in congress who vote to let them rip us off.
tiggerz
May 24, 2012 6:37PM
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Insurance company's are more fraud than the customers, My self needed a tow,,,,just a week ago, very reputable tow company was right there dropping off a vehicle at an exhaust shop, mine needed towed to town were he was going about 15 miles away,,,,,,my insurance (farmers) told me that i had to use a much lesser reputable company from the opposite direction of 35-40 miles to pick me up and i declined, leaving me to have to pay for the tow,,,my things were safe at least,,,,,the driver told me that he was familiar with Farmers--- couple of days earlier people in town needed a jump start,,umm about 1 mile from the tow company's office but Farmers had a tow company from over 50 miles away come and give them a jump start,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,​,,,,and whom is ripping whom off ?????
jawdrop
May 24, 2012 10:28PM
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The real Fraud is the insurance companies them selves for years they take your money and give nothing back when you file a claim they increase your cost to pay them back. Insurance should return funds that are not used. Pay back for the funds that you have payed them they can keep the interest for the trouble of collecting your payment.
Someone (contie)
May 24, 2012 9:08PM
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Two of the biggest rip off's of the american public in the united states is car insurance and flood insurance. And who allows it, that right the congress man or woman that you elected and sent to washington D.C. who are now millionairs.

baby911
May 24, 2012 11:37PM
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Why you never show insurance fraud people..c'mon insurance companies are the biggest froud.

I'm tire paying insurance for everything and when you really need them they cheat on you.

gohomig
May 24, 2012 9:50PM
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The real crime we all pay for is bailouts!!
Calvin Crestwood
May 24, 2012 11:28PM
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You're kidding right?  Insurance companies across the board perpetrate the biggest fraud against the consumer, in the mass millions.  Nice to know that some folks have the balls to fight fire with fire!   I don't have balls big enough to commit fraud. 
Diana Gonzalez (Dianarosa)
May 24, 2012 9:47AM
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In the town that I live in New Jersey the legal and illegal immigrants have a scam on car insurance. Many people have fake names with other states driver's licenses, they also have a fake insurance card. People from the following states: California, Arizona, Washington, Montana, Illinois, New York, Nevada, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, North and South Carolina. We are tired of seen those plates from different states and when a car accident happens these criminals because they are they just run away in their cars. By the time the police arrived at the scene of the accident these people are long gone. These situations are more common each day. There have being instances that people have died, or got injured badly. Then the city get sue and our tax dollars are there to worked and penned this down to us. The ones that paid our car insurance. How about people that looked in the records and find out about those accidents contact a lawyer and get the opportunity to sue and win. Or how about a person that's passing by (just walking) they get to sue the owner of that house even do the sidewalk is in very good conditions. Those people weren't even there. If you don't answer that lawyer you have to paid the supposed "victim" for the damages and bruises. We must find a way to stopped this vicious cicle. How about certain foreigners that love to do this state "America has money and I want to built a nice house in my native country.? Shame on them! 
hrtattkjck
May 24, 2012 11:38PM
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Insurance companies are scam artists I remember in my early twenties I wrecked my truck and needed a new steering box, I spoke with the adjuster and we made a deal that I would supply a steering box from a junkyard for the deductible (a new one cost over $1000.00) Well it came time to get my vehicle back they said I needed the deductible paid I called the adjuster and he lied and said we never made that deal it cost me $500.00 plus what I paid for the steering box. A blatant liar of an adjuster.

That was twenty-seven years ago I have never had any dealings with  another insurance company no wrecks or houses burning down and fraud is just wrong. I will guarantee one thing if I ever have a claim they will only be dealing with my attorney and I will get every nickel due me.

Don't forget folks if some knucklehead damages your vehicle in an accident make sure you get whats owed in DIMINISHED VALUE a wreck on the carfax can cost you thousands in trade-in or private sale value.
teddy Bear 52
May 24, 2012 7:32PM
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Well ,I guess fraud begets fraud. I have a hard time feeling sorry for INS. Companies,although you should never commit fraud. Except for the Government,that's different of course.
gohomig
May 24, 2012 9:39PM
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 This is a drop in the bucket compared to those bailouts the banks had!!!

the bigger the happyer she is
May 25, 2012 7:50AM
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There is not insurance fraud like the insurance companies fraud,..... what they really like is take your money from your pocket and never give it back to you.
Mary Quinn
May 24, 2012 4:28PM
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Authorities in New York have filed fraud charges against a 75-year-old Long Island man who allegedly assumed his dead brother’s name and social security number to work while he collected almost $100,000 in workers’ compensation benefits.

Benjamin Galan, of Deer Park, NY, was arrested by Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota’s Office and charged with felony fraudulent practices for violating Sect. 114 of the Workers’ Comp. Law.

New York State Insurance Fund Executive Director David Wehner said the arrest followed an investigation by the Suffolk DA’s Office and NYSIF Division of Confidential Investigations based on information that Galan was allegedly unlawfully receiving workers’ comp. benefits.

According to investigators, Galan filed a work-related back injury claim while working as a heating and air conditioning technician in 1972. Galan continued to receive weekly workers’ comp. benefits for the injury, during which time he repeatedly certified having not returned to work in numerous forms he submitted to NYSIF.

Suffolk authorities only recently learned that Galan allegedly had gone back to working as a heating and air conditioning technician for several years while using the ID of his deceased brother, David Galan.

Galan allegedly unlawfully received $98,686 in workers’ comp. payments from NYSIF during that time.

This man was able to obtain a drivers license, SS# etc, with only his dead brother's birth certificate- get this-the poor brother died when he was just a young boy. This crook worked under both names for many years, even filing IRS tax returns, collecting unemployment as well.

john eguchi (jjons electric)
May 24, 2012 7:11PM
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Ill tell you what why not the government in scamming all of us and any company making money is in it with them as well think about it. Remember the ball out money the banks got from the government, was that money to help them because people could not pay their mortgage payment right well why didn’t the people get the money so they could at least pay their mortgage payment and start down sizing right., but instead the banks got it from the government and they pissed it away. And we the people got no mortgage payment paid or any credit towards anything at all they used the money to get bones checks and make shore they could kick us out of the houses that they approved us for and to think where did that money come from in the first place.  ( Yea if the founding fothers where hear now they woud think this is not what they had planed for the people of this grate nation.)

Robert Wykes
May 24, 2012 11:27PM
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I'm thinking of the NYC fraud case where the owner of several buildings insured them against terrorists attacks, just a short time before one happened, then got paid without a proper or thorough investigation.

Insurance is just a numbers racket that estimates the odds against you and then forces you to bet against your own luck. They get to factor in whatever profit margin they want, legally. Kind of like a lottery I'd say. Win win for them. It must be nice to be able to legally operate a business like that.

 

arodtorre
May 25, 2012 8:31AM
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When you purchase insurance you are entering into a contract. The insurance company promises to cover a certain set of possibilities and you promise to make timely premium payments and cooperate with the terms of the contract. It's really quite simple. The problems enter when you have policyholder's with either a borderline capacity for understanding simple concepts or people who have an entitlement attitude (lots of that these days) and believe that because they pay their premium that they are entitled to money every time they stub their toe.

If you don't like insurance companies or their practices, don't do business with them. This also applies to banks.
ajnin82
May 25, 2012 9:58AM
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Millions paid to CEO's of Insurance Co. Talk about fraud ?
merry holidays
May 24, 2012 4:22PM
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There are many insurance companies (some verry large) who contribute to and support the scam insurance (especially auto) claims.. these large insurance companies have the resources to thoroughly investigate scam claims but do NOT do so...The insurance companies simply pay the scammer...Every time the insurance companies pay the scammers they are encouraging more scams and more scammers!!!   Then the insurance companies increase our premiums..soo those of us who are not scammers should sue our insurance companies to force the insurance companies to investigate thoroughly and eventually stop the scammers and STOP INCREASING OUR PREMIUMS!!!!!
chris beck
May 24, 2012 1:36AM
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JUST LIKE GEORGE AND HONG YI of FREMONT,CA

 

 BOTH OF THEM WHERE NOT HURT.

BUT THE VERY SECOND THEY HEARD OTHER PARTY WAS NOT AT FAULT, HONG YI SCREAMED THAT SHE WAS GOING TO SUE INSURANCE COMPANY,

AND THEY DID JUST THAT

 BUT CLAIMED INJURY WHEN THEY FOUND OUT LAWERS WILL NOT TAKE THE CASE UNLESS THERE IS ENOUGH MONEY IN IT

 FIRST LAWER DROPPED THEM

BUT THEY FOUND ANOTHER SCUMBAG THAT WOULD TAKE THE CASE

AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF THEM, SINCE MOST INSURANCE COMPANIES WOULD RATHER SETTLE THAN FIGHT FRAUD

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