#InsuranceFraud

Your insurance company can’t verify the annual mileage you drive, your marital status or who in your household drives your car, so why do they ask those questions when it comes to getting an insurance provider?

There was always something funny about the Bugatti Veyron that crashed into a Texas lagoon, conveniently captured on video and shared on the Internet for the world to see.

The driver, Andy House, claimed he had to swerve to avoid a pelican on the road while trying to pick up his cell phone that dropped. To make it even more suspicious, the exotic was left idling in the water for 15 minutes until it died – ensuring that it would be a totaled vehicle by the time any authorities got  to it.

And House’s explanation for not turning off the engine? He claimed he was being bitten by mosquitoes and didn’t want to return to the car to turn off the engine. While we live in a country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty, the details laid out in House’s scenario seems to really go against him. His insurance company paid out $2 million for the car, even though House only secured a $1 million interest-free loan for the vehicle.

There are also claims going around that House tried to pay a confidential informant to steal the Bugatti and set it on fire in order to claim the insurance on it, essentially doubling the initial investment from the loaner. The insurance company is now firing back, claiming fraud. A federal judge has declared that the claim must go before a jury. They’re also stating that House violated the terms of the policy, claiming that he put over 1,200 miles on the vehicle in the three weeks he owned it.

We don’t know about you, but we’re pretty sure that mosquitoes would be the last of our worries if we were trying to save our million dollar (and change) investment. Besides, no one ever saw a pelican of any sort in any of the videos. Good luck with this one Mr. House.

Check out the video of the Veyron nose-diving into the lake after the break, if you haven’t done so already.

[Source: Autoblog]

Those sneaky, sneaky bastards. Owners of super-expensive cars list them on insurance as farm vehicles, gaining a discount on their premiums as high as 20%.

With so many people falling on hard times in this economy, some folks will do anything to earn a buck. That includes faking a car accident to make ends meet.

According to a recent report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), questionable claims (QC) resulting from staged accidents have increased 46 percent from 2007 through 2009. On a somewhat positive note, legitimate insurance claims have shrunken a bit, but this is only because there are fewer cars on the road, a by-product of fewer jobs.

What makes this type of crime so popular is that unless someone becomes suspicious, many of these staged accidents go undetected. Along with the fact that it’s a criminal offence and they defraud insurance companies out of millions of dollars (which in turn raises the premiums for the rest of us), staged accidents often involve innocent victims who are obeying the law, and can result in serious injury and death.

Florida takes the lead in all states with 3,006 QCs in 2009, with New York following in second with 1,680. Rounding out the top five are California (1,619), Texas (792) and Illinois (433). Out of the top offending cities, New York City leads the way, but Florida comes in strong with three offending cities (Tampa, 562; Miami, 511; and Orlando, 422). Houston closes out the list with 376 QCs.

The NICB has created a series of videos that get the message across by demonstrating some of the most common types of staged accidents. You can watch them at www.nicb.org.

Official release after the jump: