Hiding Your Auto Insurance Claim From A Spouse
A reporter recently set out to see if it was possibly to hide a car insurance claim from someone like your husband or parent. In the article “Can You Make a ‘Secret’ Car Insurance Claim,” Lynnette Khalfani-Cox explained the findings published on the Fox Business website. Those who would be looking to hide an auto insurance claim are called ‘omnibus insured’. This means that while they are not the primary insured, they have the permission of the primary insured to have their car covered by the policy and submit claims for accidents or other damage.
After speaking with experts at the Insurance Expert Network, the reporter found that while there is the slightest possibility that you could hide your car insurance claim, it is extremely unlikely for many reasons. Insurers like One Beacon auto insurance don’t keep claims secret like you might expect health insurance companies to do. Insurance companies are likely to telephone the primary insured to confirm information and claims. If for some reason they didn’t call the primary insured, they would likely mail them some type of correspondence.
Not only will a check for the deductible most likely have to be written, but the primary insured will have to sign over the check from the insurance company to the dealership fixing the car. If an omnibus insured person managed to keep all of this from the primary insured, the insurance company is still probably going to send a survey asking how their claims service performed. And maybe most importantly, there is a good chance that the primary insured’s auto insurance rates are going to increase because of the accident. A 10% increase will not likely go unnoticed.
Written by Sara Smart
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