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AIBU?

To just not be able to do this (accident claim)

128 replies

soyvanillalatte · 29/07/2016 10:04

Someone rear ended me at a red light this week. The car is being looked at for a quote and repair and I will be getting a rental car BUT the car may be written off and I could potentially end up out of pocket as there would be a gap between what I paid for it/what I would need for a replacement and the market value given by the assessors.

My Husband is on at me to claim for injury and says I am a fool not to as everyone does this and it is the way to make sure I can buy a "new" car if the my damaged one is written off, or indeed to just get some compensation for the inconvenience/accident. I am not injured and find the whole idea dishonest.

Am I being a fool? Is this something people do to make sure they get a payment from an insurance company?

Just to add some info: I find it incredibly hard to find suitable cars as I only drive an auto and the car I have is a 2004 but it has 10000 mileage so was about £1500 when I bought it a year ago.

OP posts:

Report

LokisUnderpants · 29/07/2016 10:06

No you're not being a fool. Claiming for injuries is what helps to push the cost of insurance up for the rest of us. I wouldn't be able to do it.

It might be worth your while learning to drive a manual?

soyvanillalatte · 29/07/2016 10:06

sorry, HAD 10, 000 mileage

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eightbluebirds · 29/07/2016 10:06

Really? 1. You'll probably get caught. What injured are you going to pretend you have? I assume whiplash? 2. This is why insurance is so expensive. Idiots that do this.

soyvanillalatte · 29/07/2016 10:09

eighbluebirds Apparently its commonplace and it doesn't need to be whiplash. Just some degree of back injury and upset does it. We know a couple who had a bump in a car park and went on holidays with the claimed money :(

I just don't think I could lie like that, although I do have a headache with the stress!

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fuctifino · 29/07/2016 10:10

No, don't listen to your dh!

My df was in a shunt, everybody was fine. The two people in the front car suddenly developed whiplash. The insurance company have been in touch with my father 3 times to ask if he was injured, has any injury appeared since. How were the people in the other car at the time? Did they say they were sore etc?

The insurance company have grown wise to chancers, you will need to go through extensive medical exams and questioning.

In short, your dh is being a dick.

noblegiraffe · 29/07/2016 10:13

Your DH is asking you to commit fraud. Why doesn't he ask you to shoplift next time you are in town as loads of people do that too?

CatNip2 · 29/07/2016 10:13

Absolutely spitting feathers at this suggestion.

My son backed out of a car park and accidently touched, and when I say touched I mean there was an inch long mark on the other car, a taxi, which could be buffed out. We confirmed we were happy to pay for any repairs.

The taxi was filthy so all the pictures proved there was no damage, however he claimed for whiplash despite his car being undamaged and there being two witnesses. He got 5k because, despite the insurance company confirming they knew it was fraudulent they couldn't prove it and if it had gone to court, they could have had to pay legal fees too.

They did confirm his card had been marked though in the insurance world, whatever that means.

It stinks, and any one that does this stinks too, and should be ashamed. This is one of those situations that I feel the need to use the MN term "boils my piss".

soyvanillalatte · 29/07/2016 10:13

He is suggesting I am a "mug" for not doing it. (although to be fair, he isn't making me). It just made me question myself.

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soyvanillalatte · 29/07/2016 10:15

I will add that the man who hit me was an absolute gent about it.

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acasualobserver · 29/07/2016 10:16

I think you should do it. I've heard credit card fraud can also be very lucrative. If you have some spare time you could rob a bank as well.

welshweasel · 29/07/2016 10:18

And people wonder why insurance has gone up so much. Insurance companies are wising up to this and the medical examinations they are subjecting people to have become much more rigorous. They have also started prosecuting people who they believe have made a fraudulent claim. Tell your husband to stop being a dick.

Leslieknope45 · 29/07/2016 10:21

A friend of mine claimed for whiplash. She got enough money to be able to buy her first house (deposit obviously). I'll be honest and say it has seriously clouded my opinion of her. I don't see why anyone would claim for an accident unless they were maybe seriously injured and couldn't work

PenguindreamsofDraco · 29/07/2016 10:25

Several cases recently of chancers like that ending up in prison for contempt of cour and fraud Courts are far more sceptical, as indeed are insurers. And you'd have to get a doctor to confirm such a low velocity impact could cause damage.
Moronic suggestion of his.

soyvanillalatte · 29/07/2016 10:26

Just for the record, I am in no way considering doing this. I just couldn't do it. As mentioned, I find the whole idea dishonest and just couldn't lie like that.

I was just being made to feel like a fool as "this is what people DO" and wondered if I was BU. (Glad to see it looks like I am not)

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MackerelOfFact · 29/07/2016 10:27

Your DH is asking you to commit fraud. Why doesn't he ask you to shoplift next time you are in town as loads of people do that too?

Exactly this. WTF is he thinking?

Must be a real treat to realise you are married to someone so dishonest and out for his own gain.

soyvanillalatte · 29/07/2016 10:27

It was actually quite a high velocity impact..we were shunted across the road. No injury though.

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LyndaNotLinda · 29/07/2016 10:28

Would your husband advise you to pick someone's pocket? Or not put through some expensive stuff at the self-service till? Of course not. This isn't any different.

Tell him to stop being such a muppet.

TeaPleaseLouise · 29/07/2016 10:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

StarryIllusion · 29/07/2016 10:31

Your DH is being a dick. Don't listen to him, it is good that you can't imagine fleecing someone for compensation for an injury you don't have. Especially when he was so decent about it. Makes a nice change from the swearing and abuse that are so often the norm. Not wanting to commit fraud certainly doesn't make you a mug. The only thing I'm questioning is how a nice, honest person managed to marry such a twat.

NicknameUsed · 29/07/2016 10:32

I would think a lot less of anyone considering committing fraud. If you did this and were caught no insurance company would be willing to insure you again.

As other posters have said, insurance companies have wised up to all these "whiplash" claims, and it is far more difficult to prove these days, and rightly so.

soyvanillalatte · 29/07/2016 10:35

I am so relieved to hear I am not a mug. I don't think DH was thinking "big pay-out" rather being able to bump the money up so we can actually afford to buy a replacement car if it is written off. We cant afford to be out of pocket around £900 or so at this point in time.

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Pollaidh · 29/07/2016 10:39

As someone who was injured in a collision 10 years ago, and still suffering, please do not do this. It is fraud, and it also means that people with genuine injuries like mine are treated by both insurance companies and friends/colleagues as potential fraudsters.

Do you know what a claim will involve? Statements, travelling to a different city to have an hour long medical assessment by an independent expert who is checking the validity of your claim; someone going through your entire life's medical history; pages and pages of forms and letters and solicitor's meetings; potentially going to court; the person in the other car being potentially prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.

If you are ever caught you could potentially face a prison sentence, a criminal record (which will affect your ability to get jobs), and you will probably struggle ever to get insurance again, for anything.

But overall people like your husband make me feel sick. He is immoral. Some people are unfortunate enough to be genuinely, life changingly injured. I say, if you want the compensation money I received, then you are welcome to also take my daily pain and disability, the fact I can't pick up my own crying child, the nightmares, the medications, the fact I can no longer do the activities I previously loved.

Hoppinggreen · 29/07/2016 10:40

You are not a mug for refusing to commit fraud

memyselfandaye · 29/07/2016 10:40

If you can't afford to be out of pocket then don't lie!

If you throw in a few made up injuries does he really think you will be 10k richer next week?

It can take years to settle those type of claims, be truthful and it will be settled in weeks.

diddl · 29/07/2016 10:41

What a ridiculous thing for him to suggest.

If it happens to him & he wants to do it then that is one thing.

To suggest that someone else should...

If your car is written off, why would you be out of pocket?

Would you not get the value of the car before the accident?

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