A client's teenage son backed into another car in a parking lot. There was no damage to our client's vehicle and only minor damage to the bumper of the other car. The Third Party (other person involved) agreed to let our client pay for the damage out of pocket. The Third Party went to a garage, got an estimate for repairs and wanted our client to pay her cash for the repairs. Our client refused to do this and advised that she would pay the garage directly for the repair. This was done and our insured thought the matter settled until she received a call from the other person's insurance company to verify her information and the details of the incident.
Our client, concerned and confused, immediately called our office to discuss. I advised her to call the other insurance company back and request that if the Third Party was going to claim through her insurance that she wanted a refund for the money she already paid to the garage to have the other car's damages repaired. The other insurance company was stunned. They were not aware that their client had already made an agreement with our client to have the damages repaired and that the garage had in fact already been paid for those repairs.
Well, an incident like this might be considered attempted insurance fraud, which ends up being costly for all of us.
We try to educate our clients by explaining the claim process and what they can expect. We talk about whether or not a claim should be made and the potential ramifications of making a claim, such as the loss of a claims free discount. By sharing our expertise and experience with customers, we try to help them make informed decisions regarding their insurance. In this case, by contacting our office to discuss the issue, our client prevented an at fault loss being charged to her, and prevented the Third Party from making a fraudulent claim under her own insurance.
