People are getting desperate…at the thought of losing their homes and being able to even afford food to feed their families, they are resorting to car insurance fraud. How they look at it is that if their car is conveniently “stolen,” they will get paid out, be able to buy a much cheaper car, and then still have a little bit of money left over for a cash injection. What is happening more frequently is that people are basically doing anything they can to get rid of their vehicle so that they can report it stolen and then claim back from insurance. This form of fraud is now becoming extreme, with people setting their cars on fire and also driving them off cliffs! Unfortunately, once these cars are recovered, the car insurance companies are able to take out the necessary steps to punish these offenders. Punishment can range from hefty fines and then even to jail time!
The problem is that although this may seem like a foolproof way to make some extra money in desperate times, the repurcussions when the car is found are dangerous. The car insurance investigators are not stupid, and they know that a thief would not steal a luxury vehicle only to then set it alight or drive it off a cliff.
Due to the recent increase in car insurance fraud, people are being advised to rather discuss their financial problems with a bank or their motor vehicle finance house. This way, they could possibly talk about restructuring the repayments on their vehicles, or may even be able to trade their car in for an older model. Having a cheaper model will also lower your car insurance premium. It is far better to explore other options than to potentially face criminal charges for fraud.
