Staged Car Accidents

Car accidents are the least desirable thing that could happen to a motorist. No one ever wants to happen it to them. But this seems to be not the case to everyone. There are those who would risk their lives – and the lives of others- in desperate plea for an insurance claim.

Axis Capital, with a group of insurance and reinsurance companies from its main branch in Bermuda to its branches in the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore and Australia, has these warning signs for you to avoid being scammed by staged car accidents:

Types of Accident Scams

1. The T-Bone Accident

In this scenario, a scam artist will wait for your car to proceed through an intersection and then jam the gas pedal and T-bone your vehicle. When the police arrive, phony witnesses, also known as “shady helpers,” will then claim you were the one who ran the stop sign or traffic signal. This kind of scam mostly happens in traffic-congested areas such as the central Jakarta, Indonesia or Tokyo, Japan.

2. The Wave

In this scam, the other driver will notice your attempt to switch lanes and subsequently wave you ahead. As you attempt to maneuver into the lane, he will accelerate, causing a collision with your car. When the police arrive, he will deny ever providing a courtesy wave, placing you at fault.

3. Dual Turn Sideswipe

A driver in the outer lane of the dual turn rams into you if you go even the slightest bit out of the inner lane as the two of you are making your turns. They may also drive a bit into your lane and swipe your car and then blame you.

“Witnesses” working with the con artist may corroborate his story.

4. Brake Slam

This simple scam involves the driver in front of you slamming on their brakes for no reason so that you cannot avoid rear-ending her vehicle.

5. Swoop and Stop

In this scenario, a car will suddenly pull in front of yours and stop. Another vehicle will simultaneously pull up alongside your car, preventing you from swerving to avoid an accident.

6. Phony Injuries

In any fraudulent accident, you may find yourself on the hook for injuries you didn’t cause. The con artists and their passengers may collaborate with a shady physician or chiropractor and file personal injury claims for phony injuries.

Some may even visit legitimate doctors and claim whiplash or other "soft tissue injuries," which are difficult to detect.

Staged car accident scam artists are vulnerable to facts. The more information you provide, the more equipped you are to fight an insurance scam.