I was recently talking to my friend about having to swerve to avoid somebody rear – ending me on the motorway.
They said in that situation they would’ve stayed exactly where they were and allowed the person to hit them for the insurance payout.
My understanding is insurance would simply pay for your car damages and any medical(likely none for a rear end.) She then said her partner got paid €20,000 for rear -end accident even though the car was only worth €5000 and he wasn’t hurt.
How does that work? I always thought the purpose of insurance was to make you whole.
Why did he get the extra 15 grand?
Thanks in advance.
(F,Ireland)
Comments
One of the most common insurance scams are whiplash injuries. Impossible to prove/disprove and something an insurer would likely payout on.
That number seems embellished, so I’d guess it was fraud, but you absolutely can make it out well if what you get paid for the car exceeds local value or your current loan, or if your car is actually in much worse shape than the model year and make would let on.
I owed 11K on a car that was totalled and the insurance company said it was worth 13K. Not the huge difference you’re talking about, but not insignificant.
Or say your truck has a lot of torn upholstry and wear, barely runs and you get hit and totaled. The insurance company doesn’t know any of that, so they pay what the local going rate for the truck would be on paper. The value you’re given exceeds what you’d realistically get on the market, so you come out on top.
The whiplash thing the other person said isn’t so much an insurance thing as a lawsuit/fraud thing and is pretty much incorrect. Generally for medical, insurance is paying to the exact dollar spent on insurance and require proof of that expense. So unless you outright forge bills, you aren’t getting a payout beyond your medical expenses.
>My understanding is insurance would simply pay for your car damages and any medical(likely none for a rear end.
Yes.
>her partner got paid €20,000 for rear -end accident even though the car was only worth €5000 and he wasn’t hurt
He committed insurance fraud. He lied and claimed he was injured, or similar.
First, if both cars are moving, then there is no such thing as zero fault. 2nd, if the car is hit hard enough to be totalled, it’s going to hurt. It’s also pretty traumatic. It is definitely in your best interest to always try and avoid an accident. The extra payout can be for pain and suffering and loss of wages. Ie, you only get extra if you get hurt.
your friend is not talking about insurance payouts. they are talking about committing insurance fraud. Lying about their injuries and suing to try and squeeze for as much as possible.
thats why our insurance rates are so high, because of fraudsters
You crash, you call your insurance, they do everything in their power to not pay you, they raise your rates (whether you were paid or not). Wash rinse repeat.
Anyone one who tells you that it’s better to get into an accident is an absolute moron, short sighted, and likely attempting to commit insurance fraud.
Sure, if you’re lucky then the accident will be minor and the insurance company will pay you for damages and medical care. But often you can get caught up in a battle between the insurance companies. They could take weeks or months to pay out, which means you’re paying for repairs out of pocket or you don’t have a car for that time. They might require doctor visits to confirm your injuries are real, which means time off work. The other driver might be uninsured and that’s more paperwork and phone calls with your insurance. You could be shoved into the car in front of you, and their insurance will argue that you didn’t leave enough room and now you are splitting responsibility with the other driver. You might get injured much worse than you expect. Real whiplash can be lifelong and debilitating.
And they’re are a thousand other reasons, moral and ethical, that justify avoiding a rear end collision. If you can avoid an accident, please do.
Edit: also your rates will go up, even if you’re not at fault.
Being hit from behind often leads to whip lash and can cause lifelong problems. Hence the higher payout.