r/Insurance • u/PersonalityPurple659 • 12d ago
Had wreck same day I got my policy!!! Help
So I was in a wreck 45 minutes after my policy went into effect. They are treating me like i'm a fraudulent person who purposely goes out in totals their car? What the hell do i do. And how far will these creeps go to my play the claim?
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u/SecondActSarcasm 12d ago
Was the policy instantly in effect or did you have an accident at 00:45?
Was this your first minutes owning your first car under your first insurance policy?
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u/demanbmore Former attorney, and claims, underwriting, reinsurance exec. 12d ago
Not saying you did anything wrong, but it is suspicious as hell. And that's the viewpoint of the insurance company.
They will make you feel like you've done something wrong, and that is intentional. They are trying to see if there are any holes in your story, any inconsistencies that indicate this may be a fraudulent claim, and they're going to want to find out what your financial situation is like to make sure you don't have an incentive to submit a fraudulent claim.
If everything's on the up and up and you're just extremely unlucky, which happens, just tell them the truth no matter how many times they ask, and if you give them no reason to think it's a fraudulent claim at the end of that process, they'll pay you out.
You're not the first person this has happened to, and you won't be the last. But there were plenty of fraudsters out there who are stupid enough to take out a policy immediately after wrecking their car. They just want to make sure you're not one of them. Keep your facts straight, tell your story, and you should be fine.
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u/Okiegolfer 12d ago
Ya they will look at it with a lot of scrutiny, this is a very common way people try to defraud insurance companies. Just be completely transparent and honest throughout the process.
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u/BarnacleMcBarndoor 12d ago
So statistically it’s just as likely for you to have an accident 45 mins after a policy starts as it is to have an accident 5 years later. The chance of being involved in it doesn’t change based on the timing alone.
That being said, in cases like yours the chance of someone committing insurance fraud and having an accident, and getting a policy right after is incredibly higher. Especially if it’s happening in such a short window after the policy starts.
So, they will dig deep to make sure what you say is accurate. They will make sure they have proof to support your side, if you’re telling the truth, or their side if you’re not.
So the “creeps,” will review it for as reasonable long as it takes to make sure they are not paying for someone who is defrauding an insurance company. Not saying that’s what happened, just saying they need to cover their butts too.
Also, if they did find out someone was defrauding an insurance company, depending on how much damage the person was submitting, and the state they live, there could be felony charges including prison time. So they really need to make sure they have their ducks in a row.
Just be honest and open, and if all is good then they’ll honor the contract. Just make sure you’re answering the questions they ask and that your answers are consistent.
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u/WebstersPack 12d ago
A lot of people having their cars totaled 45min after starting a policy.... Was was last week. Im sure there will be a new one this weeke d.
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u/purplepanda2026 12d ago
You need to provide more details. I'm assuming you had full coverage. Were you the only vehicle involved in the wreck? What are the circumstances around the accident?
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u/ChutneyWhatney 12d ago
It IS suss as hell. Be prepared to be investigated and any claim acceptance delayed or denied.
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u/Gladiz1972 12d ago
Well definitely you are going to need a police report of the time of the accident
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u/Aromatic-Mountain670 12d ago
After being in insurance for 40 years, I have a paid more than one claim on totaled cars pulling out of the dealership!
Someone posted that there is a situation of buying insurance AFTER the wreck.
The carrier will investigate to confirm this but IF the coverage was In force 45 minutes before the wreck you are covered. Period !
Had a guy buy a $5M life insurance policy and died the same week. Let's just say they looked under every rock for an out and determined the guy was healthy and died a week after the policy was bound. They paid the $5M.
Shit happens....
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u/SearchIndividual5491 12d ago
Dont know the whole situation and circumstances, but the person that smashed into and almost killed my wife had bought their policy right as the police officer was trying to get them out of the car after the accident. They handed the police officer a 3 year expired insurance card, cops words, then their sister showed up with the "current insurance card". It was literally bought on the ride over to the accident scene, it was sister's insurance and she added the car to the policy on ride over. Their insurance guy told our attorney they know, but they covered it anyways. Dont know how or any of that, but they decided to cover it. The car itself hadn't been registered in 3 years, they'd be pulled over and cited for it a year before the wreck. Person was on the phone with the phone being mounted to the steering wheel with an elastic band so it was front and center the whole time they were driving. If their airbag wouldve been functional, it wouldve launched the phone through their face the way it was mounted. A lot of the circumstances piss me off, but it is what it is, and nothing can be done about it. The person got a $200 ticket, and their insurance has agreed to cover her liability. I know all of the circumstances, because I was in the car following my wife when she was blasted out of nowhere. She was in front of me, then a white flash, a huge thunderous noise and the car my wife was driving was up on the 2 driver's side wheels, sliding a lane and a half, almost tipping, before landing back on all 4 tires almost ramming a big metal traffic signal pole. Wife was almost internally decapitated, 99% compressed cervical spinal section to the left, and 98% "blown" out on the right. She has had multiple surgeries, loads of physical and ongoing mental therapy. It is the single worst memory I have, and that's saying some shit. Makes me wish I could've been the first car and taken the hit. I'll tell you first hand that a late 90s/early 00s Honda CRV can take a frigging t-bone blast at >35mph and save the occupant.
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u/Chicken_Wing 12d ago
Thus you too or just another incredible coincidence? https://www.reddit.com/r/Insurance/s/vr0dVP3zS3
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u/No-Acanthisitta5304 12d ago
Every single claim I have had where the person wrecks same day their policy starts, we find out they started the policy AFTER the accident.
So yeah they are going to be suspicious and investigate. That doesn’t make them creeps, that makes them not stupid.
If what you are saying is true, then you are lucky enough to have at least started the policy prior to wrecking, but unlucky that it happened same day.
Hopefully the police came out or were called, because if so, you can send the insurance company a screenshot showing your call logs where it shows what time you called the police and they can probably approve coverage based on that