I am scared of being accused of Fraud!!!

by gfunkmaster_1999 » Wed Dec 24, 2008 03:37 am

my vehicle was hit by ice being plowed by a snow plow while I was at work and my vehicle was in a parking lot. My question is I had previous damage to my vehicle and I told the adjuster the area that the previous damage was. They wrote me a check that was about 1000 dollars under my total estimate with recent and past damage. So will this be Fraud if I submit a claim with my insurance company for previous damage that is around the same area as the recent damage? Would this look Fraudulent? Help me I dont know what to do because I am scared about getting accused of something I dont want to do???

Total Comments: 14

Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 03:49 am Post Subject: insurance

Wanna say "Hello". :lol: Well.......I'm not one of the Forum's 'experts' here.....but, I DO want to say (my personal opionion, anyway..) that you need to tell your insurance company about the damage, you had on your car, BEFORE the ice hit it. That way no one can 'come back' and say you tried to file a claim on the PREVIOUS damage. Do you have an estimate for the RECENT damage..OR..RECENT and PREVIOUS damage? I would get a seperate estimate for both ( RECENT and PREVIOUS) so you can show the 'difference' between the damages, and, THIS way, you kind of 'covers yourselve'. Does this make sense?

Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 06:25 am Post Subject:

Why would it be fraud? I'm not clear, though... are you saying that the other company included the prior damage or not? You only say that their estimate was about $1000 less then something.

If the other carrier paid for the new damages you can certainly claim the old damage with your carrier. They may question why you waited so long to report the loss as now they might have a hard time determining what was old damage and what is new but this is their job.

Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 09:15 am Post Subject:

Who is the other insurer compensating your claim? Why do you want to file a claim now for the old damages? I guess you have been moving around with the car for sometime without fixing the damages, then, why suddenly you want to file the claim?

They wrote me a check that was about 1000 dollars under my total estimate with recent and past damage.



This is another part that has confused me. How did you determine the value of the past and the present damages?

Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 01:12 pm Post Subject:

I'm not understanding this question either...are you saying the exact same areas needed repair/replacement?

Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 04:42 pm Post Subject: Let me be more specific

I didnt have work done to my car before because I just wanted to wait until I turn the car in since it is a lease and due back in March. I have state farm and told them about the previous damage before this all happened. whenever something happened i informed them about it. I have 0 deductible on comp because I have hit like 4 deer in the last 3 years. I had some dings on the front right fender from either a door or something else dont know. when this happened I told my insurance about it. my agent told me since I dont have rental car on my coverage I can just wait untill i turn the car in and have it fixed after i get another car. when this new damaged happened it was on the front right fender and on the hood. when they did the adjustment and the estimate they included this on the estimate because there was no telling what was caused by previous and new damage. I told the adjuster what i thought was new damage. I dont want to have any problems when i turn it in. Just for a better explanation what if i had a chip in my windshield and then get a new one installed. but then another chip happens and have to turn it in with this crack or chip then it needs to be changed again. Do u understand. I just want to know if i file another claim with my insurance which is not the insurance company i just filed a claim with will they get together and say this is fraud???

Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:20 am Post Subject:

Have you already been paid for the damage by your carrier? If yes, you're fine, if no, you're not if it's the same .... If a rep from your carrier looks at your vehicle and the estimate of repair they will know you've already been paid by the at fault carrier for this...however, if the damage was already inspected by your carrier and paid, then you got hit in the same place, and another carrier paid you as well you're fine....so what we need to know...have you turned in and been paid for the prior damage by your carrier?

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 12:44 am Post Subject: insurance

That sounds like ( IF she DID get paid twice for the SAME damges..) 'Double-Dipping'. I'm not saying the OP is doing this, I'm just saying ( and PLEASE correct me if I'm misreading the post) that the OP got paid, for the SAME damages twice....even though the accidents on different days.

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 09:15 am Post Subject:

Double dipping on a PD claim!! is that a possibility? According to the OP he hasn't claimed against the pervious damages from his insurance company and would like to explore the idea of getting compensation for those old dents now.

IMO it's be hard for the insurance company to determine the extent of those old damages now since the car has got repaired. I'm doubtful if StateFarm will recognize the claim at all.

~Jeremy

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 09:23 am Post Subject:

I was wondering about the toll that this claim will take on his premium rate. IMO He is already paying very high I suppose since he is carrying no deductible collision plan.

OP, I'd rather suggest that if the car is working fine without mending the previous damages, you may decide not to proceed with the claim further. However, you may still wait for the experts' feedback in this regard.

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 11:01 am Post Subject: insurance

JEREMY.....maybe I DID mis-read the OP's post. I thought he was saying he wanted to 'claim' the damages that were PREVIOUSLY and RECENTY done. OOPPPS!!!...sorry if I 'got that wrong'. :roll: the OP just wanted an ESTIMATE on the PREVIOUS damages...is that correct??

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