Rising Car Arson And Insurance Fraud Costs Everyone

Due to the recent economic slowdown which is evidenced by every indicator (except the ones George Bush uses) car and SUV owners with payments they cannot afford are turning to arson to break their debts. This isnt new, however as car arson (or torching) and insurance fraud have been going on for decades.

The problem is that it is now seen in direct correlation to the economy. When the economy is positive, the level of insurance fraud tends to taper off. When the economy experiences a slowdown or negative growth (George Bush would probably call this a lull or some other four letter word) people find them selves with debts that they can no longer afford and are trapped in. As times get more desperate, the higher the number of people willing to burn or have their vehicles burned and risk getting caught.

During the last two years there has been a marked increase in car arson and insurance fraud in every state from California to North Carolina. Yes, there are cars that were really stolen, vandalized and then burned, but there is a marked difference. In cases of true theft, the thief is usually trying to remove anything that could link it back or identify themselves. In the case of a intentional burn in insurance fraud, the arsonist will attempt to make the car become rendered totaled (so far gone it cannot possibly be fixed). Usually, arson investigators will find accelerants were used like gas and other flammable liquids.

Due to this increase in car arson and insurance fraud cases, arson task forces have ben set up in many counties. In California they have even linked new and used car dealership personnel as instigators in many arson cases. Someone comes into the dealership overloaded with debt and wants to get out of a high car payment by trading in their car or vehicle. They find out they are up side down, a term referring to the fact that they owe much more than their car is worth. The salesperson or similar employee, realizing money can be made, refers them to a local arsonist and the car is then burned. There have been numerous published cases like these and they are growing.

The problem here is four fold; people are being sold cars they cant afford, they arent taking the proper responsibility for their debts, they arent properly schooled on debt, and the result is an increase in insurance costs for everyone. These can all be fixed. In California numerous consumer protection laws have been passed which obligate the dealer to be more responsible, but more needs to be done like enforcing maximum debt ratios. There should be standard education in secondary schools on debt and money management.

If we can offer classes on home economics (cooking), marketing, and UFOs, Madonna, etc (just look at a Cal Tech class list), then we can offer or make mandatory a class on debt and money. According to many experts like Suze Orman and Anthony Robbins, debt, money, wealth, and happiness can all be learned and taught. A class on debt and money management should also be mandatory for all politicians (Could you imagine how great are economy would be if George Bush envisioned America’s economy as his own and tried to cut the national debt instead of tripling it?) Debts are obligations we create and there are legal ways out of debt. Car arson and insurance fraud hurts everyone, not just those who commit it.

David Maillie specializes in automotive safety products and information. He holds numerous patents and awards for his patented headlight cleaner and restorer. For more information, tips, safety and money saving products for your auto please visit http://www.mdwholesale.com

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7 July

Auto Insurance Fraud

The reason why automobile insurance has become distinctive in its nature, can be simply stated by the fact that a victim might start paying much higher premiums for acquiring a costly claim but he or his family might still need to pay with their lives someday.

Research: Ever since the introduction of automobiles into the modern world, Automobile Insurance fraud has turned out to be one the most organized crimes amongst a large variety of insurance scams of its kind. There are some common precautions that enable you to be aware, and protect your life from being butchered by a scammer. While taking precautions, you might also need to carry on a thorough research of the different forms in which auto insurance scams appear in today’s world. Different instances of auto insurance scams show, how drivers might stop their vehicles in front of your car, deliberately confusing you to commit a mistake.

Foul Plays: Some of them might even pose friendly to you and even pretend to be innocent to have caused a rear-end fault intending to save your life. Such scam drivers would often make good money out of vehicle damages as also procuring large sums faking medical injuries. Irrespective of an accident being staged or not, these scam drivers would carry their vehicles into a different location and inflict heavier damages to their vehicles. This is done with the sheer intention to pretend as if the damages had been inflicted during the course of the original accident.

Smiling Faces: Sometimes you might come across people who pose as scam helpers, thereby inviting you to drive into traffic and commit the mistake of getting crashed by them. You need to be too careful at that, as these scam helpers would never own up their crimes while filing a claim. When in times of need they might even drive you to find an automobile repairing shop, a lawyer or a doctor where in all of these people are involved in a scam. In the course of their plan, the auto repairing shop might charge much higher rates from you while their counterparts would surely formulate lies to collect more from your insurance.

Henceforth, in today’s world it has become absolutely important to get equipped to face such crimes at any time and place. To avoid such circumstances, every time you are driving you need to remain cautious about certain things. You need to be absolutely alert as to whether a scam driver is following you or might be observing you driving down for quite some days just to track down the pattern of your driving and your habits. In such cases you just need to make sure that you leave plenty of space between your car and the car in front of you, in order to ensure an instant stop when needed.

Incase any untoward incident takes place, just make sure that you take down all the vital in formations relating to the other car involved in the accident, the event itself, and especially particulars related to all the individuals present in the other car. If its possible, maintain a throwaway camera at your car to record the damages caused to both the vehicles. That is why its all the more important to ensure that you have enough space to move out and let other vehicles pass. You would also need to make a note of an overview of such an event that suffices to express your feelings in a better way while you would narrate the event to your insurance service provider.

This article may be freely republished in any electronic media provided author biobox and the links are kept as it is.

Evan T. Smith is a contributing author to the Insurance Discussion Board.

Join us right away and set an alarm for a scam-free insurance world.

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3 July