What is double-dipping an auto insurance claim?
Double-dipping an auto insurance claim is illegal, and insurance companies can sue drivers for double-dipping on their auto insurance claims. Double-dipping a car insurance claim will be treated as fraud legally, as having multiple companies payout for the same claim is a fraud, which results in a criminal charge and hefty fines. Fraud costs the average family between $400 and $700 a year. Learn more about double-dipping on an auto insurance claim.
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Laura D. Adams
Insurance & Finance Analyst
Laura Adams is one of the nation’s leading finance, insurance, and small business authorities. As an award-winning author, spokesperson, and host of the top-rated Money Girl podcast since 2008, millions of readers and listeners benefit from her practical advice. Her mission is to empower consumers to live healthy and rich lives by planning for the future and making smart money decisions. She rec...
Insurance & Finance Analyst
UPDATED: Jun 21, 2024
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident auto insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one auto insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.
UPDATED: Jun 21, 2024
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident auto insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one auto insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
Summary Details | From the Experts... |
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Double-dipping insurance means submitting the same claim to multiple companies | Nolo |
Double-dipping auto insurance is illegal | Nolo |
If you double-dip, you can be sued for fraud | Nolo |
Double-dipping at a party is not cool, but it won’t land you in jail. Double-dipping an auto insurance claim just might.
Double-Dipping Auto Insurance Claims
It is uncommon for double-dipping to be accidental. In the vast majority of cases, this is premeditated fraud and the culprits are fully aware of what they are doing at the time.
What does double-dipping an auto insurance claim mean?
The simple legal definition of insurance double-dipping is fraudulently submitting a vehicle insurance claim multiple times. Double-dipping in the context of auto insurance essentially means that an insurance claim is filed with two different insurance companies four a . So if you’re wondering, can I file a claim with two insurance companies? The answer is no.
This allows you to double claim insurance payouts. Although the benefits of double insurance would be big payouts, it is against the law. This is true in most states, including in the case of Virginia auto insurance double-dipping.
What is auto insurance fraud and how does it affect rates?
Auto Insurance fraud ranges from lying on claims reports to intentionally staging accidents and filing false theft reports. It is estimated that it costs the average family between $400 and $700 a year.
This, of course, raises rates so that insurance companies can offset the amount they pay out in claims.
Your rates will also be affected by an auto accident on your driving record. This table shows you just how much of a difference one accident can make as an example of how your driving record can impact your insurance rates.
Average Annual Rates Based on Driving Record with 1 AccidentCompany | Rates with a Clean Record | Rates with 1 Accident |
---|---|---|
Allstate | $3,819.90 | $4,987.68 |
American Family | $2,693.61 | $3,722.75 |
Farmers | $3,460.60 | $4,518.73 |
Geico | $2,145.96 | $3,192.77 |
Liberty Mutual | $4,774.30 | $6,204.78 |
Nationwide | $2,746.18 | $3,396.95 |
Progressive | $3,393.09 | $4,777.04 |
State Farm | $2,821.18 | $3,396.01 |
Travelers | $3,447.69 | $4,289.74 |
USAA | $1,933.68 | $2,516.24 |
You can see that just one accident can cost you around an extra thousand dollars a year on your auto insurance.
Read more:
- What information do I need to file an auto insurance claim with Nationwide?
- What information do I need to file an auto insurance claim with Progressive?
- What information do I need to file an auto insurance claim with Farmers?
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What is double-dipping in insurance?
An example of this might be if you take out auto liability insurance to protect yourself from having to pay for any accidents and also take out health insurance.
In this case, you can find yourself getting a pay-out both from your car insurance company and from the health insurance company. You would be double-dipping health insurance as well as auto insurance.
Read more: What happens if I have a claim against another driver’s insurance company?
Medical insurance double-dipping might also happen if you carry MedPay or personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. Both pay medical claims through your auto insurance.
Double-dipping MedPay and car insurance can be fraudulent, just like PIP double-dipping with health insurance, if you are asking the same claim to be paid twice. Double-dipping dental insurance and medical or auto insurance would also be a problem for the same reason.
And this would be frowned upon, seeing as both insurers would payout to cover legal costs and in this scenario, the claimant would then be paid twice for the same thing.
Your double-dipping health insurance claim would be denied. Double-dipping medical insurance can also lead to legal trouble.
Likewise, an example of double-dipping might be if you took out comprehensive insurance for your belongings, and then got your laptop separately insured against theft.
Then, if your laptop was stolen, you could claim on both the contents insurance and the insurance you had on the laptop because you had duplicate insurance coverage.
The same is true if you use your homeowner’s policy to insure your laptop then double-dip home insurance claim too. Or if you purchase travel insurance and file against that as well as your auto policy. Filing with your auto policy while double-dipping travel insurance is also illegal.
It is best to just have the coverage you need and avoid overlapping coverages. This video explains some of the types of auto coverage available to you, including liability, comprehensive, and collision coverage.
It is important to speak with your agent about your auto insurance needs to avoid overlapping coverage and double-dipping.
Double-Dipping Insurance Claim
The term tends to refer specifically to when victims will file claims against the at-fault driver’s insurance company and file a duplicate claim for their own insurance. In this case, it can also be referred to as ‘double-dipping’.
Is double-dipping illegal?
No double-dipping is allowed with an insurance company or claim and it is against the law. However, it is particularly common to find in the auto insurance industry.
Not surprisingly, there is a law against car accident insurance double-dipping. Not to mention, double-dipping and the insurance ethic code do not mix.
Can a vehicle be insured twice?
It’s also possible in some cases for double-dipping to refer to claims being taken out on two different insurance policies held by the same person.
For instance, if you had insurance with two separate auto insurers, then this might allow you to claim on both using the double insurance coverage for your car. The double-dipping on a car insurance claim would be fraudulent.
More commonly, it might be that you are insured to drive multiple cars and another person has added you to their insurance premium. The double-dipping insurance driver and owner of the vehicle would be held responsible for the fraud.
In all these scenarios, the money that is paid out will be double what you would normally receive. This means that you would likely make a profit and receive much more than the costs associated with the accident. That is illegal.
Some particularly unscrupulous individuals might even use this strategy in conjunction with other types of fraud. For instance, you might double dip and then purposefully get into an accident in order to claim on multiple insurance policies.
Some people might even take out more than two insurance policies—effectively triple-dipping or worse.
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What happens if you get caught?
Of course, there is a chance that insurance companies won’t find out. However, as insurers will often work directly with garages and other organizations, there is a high chance that your fraud will be discovered.
What do auto insurance companies do when they suspect a customer of fraud?
This will be treated as fraud legally, and that means you might find yourself on the receiving end of significant fines. You could even be sued by the insurance companies, and in some cases, fraud is pursued as a criminal charge.
This video explains what auto insurance companies watch for.
More likely, you will find that the insurance companies deny the car insurance claim on the basis of it being fraudulent. This will leave you without any type of legal assistance. You may then find yourself having to pay for repairs to your vehicle or for medical costs on your own.
How serious is an insurance auto fraud claim?
If you get caught double-dipping, then you are violating the law and will likely face serious consequences as a result. The punishment for insurance fraud double-dipping can be severe depending on the type of fraud and amount of the claim.
How to Avoid Auto Insurance Fraud
In some rare cases, you might find yourself unsure as to whether you should be claiming through more than one type of insurance.
Perhaps you want to use one policy for one aspect of your accident and a different policy for another? Maybe your health insurance is better than the health coverage provided by your car insurance?
In these cases, it is important to ensure that you claim with each company only for the amount you need. Meanwhile, if you are ever uncertain, then it always pays to thoroughly examine your policy. If you’re still unsure, pick up the phone and discuss it with your insurance providers.
At the end of the day, the best strategy is always to be fully transparent and to ask when you’re unsure. The advisor you speak to is paid by the insurance company to provide you with assistance and they gain nothing by recommending you one way or the other—they should give you the best advice possible.
And for the most part, avoid taking out more than one policy with overlapping coverage. You should normally be able to find single policies to take care of everything you need, which will be much simpler.
Now that you know what to beware of to avoid double-dipping your car insurance, you can look at coverages that fit your needs. Enter your ZIP code to get multiple quotes immediately to compare rates.
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Frequently Asked Questions: What is double-dipping an auto insurance claim?
Here are a few more questions that get asked often about double-dipping insurance.
#1 – What do I do if insurance paid me twice?
Contact your insurance company immediately and let them know. Transparency is key to make sure your insurance company knows that you are not doing anything fraudulent.
#2 – How are Missouri double-dip insurance issues handled differently?
In Missouri, you can double dip your personal health insurance and Medical Payment insurance, if you have them both and are injured in an accident. Make sure you speak with both companies in advance to make sure you are following the law.
#3 – Is double-dipping insurance in Texas allowed?
Just like most other states Texas does not allow double-dipping on insurance. However, Texas law provides an automatic $2,500 personal injury protection coverage for every driver. This can be used in conjunction with health insurance or auto insurance, as long as the same claim isn’t filed twice.
#4 – Is it illegal to double insure a car?
It is technically legal to have double coverage car insurance on the same vehicle. Can you be insured twice on the same car with the same insurance company? Typically no, because insurance companies won’t insure the same car more than once, so you’ll need to have policies with two different insurance companies.
However, as we already noted, if you’re in an accident, you filing claims with both companies for the same damages is considered double-dipping and is illegal. You’re probably better off only insuring your vehicle with one policy. That way you’ll save money (you won’t have to pay two separate insurance premiums) and you’ll avoid the possibility of double-dipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is double-dipping an auto insurance claim?
Double-dipping an auto insurance claim refers to the act of attempting to receive duplicate compensation for the same damages or losses from multiple insurance policies or sources. It involves filing a claim with more than one insurer for the same incident or loss.
Is double-dipping an auto insurance claim legal?
No, double-dipping an auto insurance claim is generally considered insurance fraud and is illegal in most jurisdictions. Insurance fraud involves intentionally deceiving insurers to receive greater compensation than what is legitimately owed.
What are the consequences of double-dipping an auto insurance claim?
The consequences of double-dipping an auto insurance claim can be severe. If caught, the individual may face legal penalties, including fines and potential imprisonment. Additionally, the insurers involved may cancel the policy, refuse future coverage, or take legal action to recover any wrongfully paid amounts.
How do insurers detect double-dipping in auto insurance claims?
Insurers employ various measures to detect double-dipping in auto insurance claims. They may analyze claim data to identify overlapping claims, investigate inconsistencies in reported information, collaborate with other insurers to share information, and utilize specialized anti-fraud technology and techniques to uncover fraudulent activities.
Can unintentional double-dipping occur in auto insurance claims?
While double-dipping is typically considered an intentional act, unintentional double-dipping can occur due to confusion or misunderstandings. For example, if an insured person mistakenly believes they are entitled to duplicate coverage from separate policies, they may inadvertently file multiple claims for the same loss. However, even unintentional double-dipping is generally not allowed, and the insurer may request reimbursement for any duplicated payments.
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Laura D. Adams
Insurance & Finance Analyst
Laura Adams is one of the nation’s leading finance, insurance, and small business authorities. As an award-winning author, spokesperson, and host of the top-rated Money Girl podcast since 2008, millions of readers and listeners benefit from her practical advice. Her mission is to empower consumers to live healthy and rich lives by planning for the future and making smart money decisions. She rec...
Insurance & Finance Analyst
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.