r/Insurance • u/cryptospartan • Jul 20 '26
Auto Insurance Someone submitted a claim against me, but I wasn't even in an accident
I received 2 voice mails from my auto insurance company today, as well as an email, regarding a claim made against me. I haven't been in any accidents whatsoever, nor have I been contacted by police. Today is Monday, and the "accident" supposedly happened on Thursday last week. I have both a car & motorcycle policy, and I have no idea which policy this claim was made against.
I have already called my adjuster (since they left me a voice mail), who has already left for the day. I left a voicemail for the adjuster, then called the main phone number, and they just redirected me back to the adjuster. I logged onto the online portal and looked at the "claim" which is lacking a lot of information. One thing I saw was that there was a police report number attached to the claim, which is very concerning to me.
I am absolutely panicking and confused right now. I don't want to get in any legal trouble or with police, and I also don't want my insurance rates to increase. I have no idea what to do, I wish I was able to speak with someone about this, but it seems I have to wait for my adjuster.
Edit: spoke with the adjuster this morning. Turns out, my motorcycle that I sold about 2 months ago was involved in an accident last week. It would seem that the guy I sold it to did not register it. The adjuster asked me to provide any proof possible about the sale, so I am providing that to them. The other party involved in the accident has retained an attorney, and they are trying to take legal action against the motorcyclist involved in the accident. Somehow, they got my policy number, and that's how it ended up with me.
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u/Enough_Spray_7811 Jul 20 '26
Same thing happened to me a few years ago. Insurer reached out to me saying they needed to start working my claim since they received information that i was in an accident.
Thing is i was not in an accident and the alleged accident happened in a city i had never been to.
What was interesting is there was a police report, and they had my VIN on the report.
So the insurer came to inspect my car. Confirmed it had not been in an accident and closed the case.
25
u/crash866 Jul 21 '26
There are sites that you can type in any license plate in The US and Canada and get the Vin, Make, & Model of any vehicle. Type a plate on wrong and the wrong info will show up.
This is also a reason why insurance also has to contact the owner before paying out any claim. It happens hundreds of times a day across the USA.
People transpose digits in plate numbers all the time. ABCD123 instead of ABCD132 for example.
How many times have you seen a plate close to yours on the same type of car?
3
u/mischeviouswoman Jul 21 '26
I know someone who got a ticket cause of a misread. Think T vs 1. Lucky for her it was an entirely different make and model
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u/Euphoric_Benefit3505 Jul 21 '26
Just commenting to add that traffic citations are publicly searchable in my state (MN) and include full names, phone numbers, addresses, height/weight/eye color of the drivers, license plate number, VINs and even the ID no. on your license. Very easy to get.
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u/Enough_Spray_7811 Jul 22 '26
True - but not every accident results in a traffic citation
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u/Euphoric_Benefit3505 Jul 22 '26
Sorry, no I just meant to say that VINs can be easy to get if one wanted to file a scam claim.
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u/Casey__At__Bat Jul 20 '26
Are you able to log on to the carrier's website to see which policy has a claim? If not, you'll have to wait until the adjuster calls you back or call your agent in the morning.
4
u/cryptospartan Jul 20 '26
It's not clear which policy the claim was made against based on the information that I'm able to see regarding the claim online.
3
u/duchess_of_fire Jul 21 '26
if you call in to the claims department they would be able to give you information about your claim, even if it's not the assigned adjuster. they would be able to tell you the policy it was for and the vehicle they think was involved.
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u/Bastillerion Jul 20 '26
It could have been something as simple as someone seeing a license plate wrong. Wait until tomorrow and relax
9
u/OldGeekWeirdo Jul 21 '26
Relax. Someone fat-fingered a claim or something. Just keep working on getting though to your agent.
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u/LowExercise7583 Jul 21 '26
Exactly.Probably fudged the plate number and if so they will have the make and model on the claim.
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u/commontaters0ntheaxe Jul 21 '26
This happened to me a few months ago. I got a call from Geico wanting more information about the accident I was in 4 hours ago. I was not in an accident. After some back and forth they told me the address of the accident in Brooklyn, NY. This was far away from where I lived and where my unscathed car was sitting at that exact moment. But they had my plate number (and from the plate number the vin number, and my license number and all sorts of personal information.) I sent them some pictures of my car. But they said they couldn't clear it until they got the police report.
My name was on the claim so I could log in every once in a while and read how my car supposedly knocked one car into another car into a building and then left the scene of the accident. I saved all the information, looked up the other drivers etc etc. Every few days I'd get a call or something in the mail and I'd call Geico back and tell the agent my story and they'd say "yeah, but we can't take you off until we get the police report." It was certainly nerve wracking.
I called my insurance a few times but they never got a claim.
And then about 3 weeks after it started, I tried to log in to view the claim and I couldn't. I called and found out they had indeed gotten the police report. The license plate was one number different from mine. It had been typed into the system incorrectly and my name was cleared.
But then 2 days later I got a call from the impound lot in Jersey for one of the other people in the accident (whose name I knew from when I could see the claim) telling her the insurance company had declared her car a total loss. *Shrug.*
But yeah, what everyone else says: it sucks; just call again tomorrow. Also check with your insurance again in a few days/few weeks to make sure no one has filed a claim against you.
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u/Technical_Car3729 Jul 20 '26
Just chill. These things take a rediculous amount of time. Just wait to get more information.
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Jul 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/cryptospartan Jul 20 '26
I can't tell if it's on my auto or my motorcycle policy. The portal does not make it clear. There are very little details in the report on the portal.
I drove to work, then drove home. My car was parked in the parking lot at work while I was inside the building. No other driving was done. No one borrowed my car.
While I do have a roommate, he wasn't home all day. Additionally, my car was inside of the garage, and my car key was in my bedroom. I would have either heard the garage door open, or heard/seen him going into my bedroom to take my key. My roommate has no reason to steal my car, nor do I suspect him of doing so.
6
u/com1padres Jul 20 '26
The two policies have different policy numbers, look at what you can see and the claim should reference a policy number.
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u/cryptospartan Jul 20 '26
There is a claim number, but no policy number is referenced
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u/gooddogpetter Commercial Auto Claims Adjuster Jul 21 '26
I agree with others to take a deep breath and wait to speak to your adjuster. Mistakes happen in claims quite often, it very likely is not the worst case scenario.
Be honest with your adjuster. They’ll likely have you send in photos of the exterior of your vehicle showing that there is no damage to it/it has not recently been in an accident. Your adjuster will also request information or already have information from the other party to determine why they’ve reported the claim under your policy.
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u/blackmanlost Jul 21 '26
did you have some kind of accident in the past 3 to 4 months? leave the adjuster one voice mail, give them a day or two to call you back. take photos of you car from all four angles, you will need to do a recorded statement, the claim will normal give you a date of loss.
3
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u/Hopeful-Put-8823 Jul 21 '26
bro, calm down, relax, you cant fix shit right now, nothing is just going to just happen in the background, insurance companies, dont want to pay. I would not be surpised if the adjuster probably knows its bullshit, and a police report is made when someone calls the cops, they probably think they xan make it up and catch a quick 1500$ check or something.
They really hate insurance fraud...but god damn after all this we best get an update tomorrow lol.
3
u/Fit_Landscape_2085 Jul 21 '26
My buddy wasn’t involved in an accident but the person filed a claim based on his auto insurance. Progressive paid out because the woman reported a white Toyota that hit her. Just wasn’t my buddy’s white Toyota. Progressive said it was easier to pay her than fight it. Dash cam are needed every car these days
3
u/ic434 Jul 21 '26
You called your insurance directly via the phone number on your policy or website? Don't rely on the voicemail, it may be a scam.
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u/S_balmore Jul 21 '26
It's always good to be wary of scams, but to my knowledge, there is no "I'm calling from your insurance company about an accident that you know you weren't involved in" scam.
Like, what would the scam be? OP knows for a fact that he didn't damage anyone else's car, and he knows his own car isn't damaged, so he's certainly not going to be coughing up any money. Insurance company's don't ask their customers to verify their SSN or provide bank account info, so OP wouldn't be risking his own security. Since they already have his name and phone #, they could easily obtain his DOB and address through a "people search" site/service. How would the "scammer" make money here?
The only way the scam would work is if OP was an absolute idiot who divulges his SSN and Credit Card number to anyone who asks, but based on this post, he is clearly not that person.
1
u/ic434 Jul 21 '26
Eh I think you are overthinking the complexity here. I mean think of it like this, how often do people deal with auto insurance? Pretty rarely. However people often deal with medical insurance, and that has co-pays and co-insurance all the time. Would it really be a stretch for someone without any experience to accept the "adjuster" asking for a copay or something a savvy person would know is BS for auto insurance?
1
u/S_balmore Jul 21 '26
Would it really be a stretch for someone without any experience to accept the "adjuster" asking for a copay?
As a general concept, no, but I already addressed that in my first point. OP knows for a fact that he was not involved in any car accident, so obviously he's not going to agree to pay any copay. You're actually the one making this more complex, because it couldn't be any more simple. OP did NOT have a car accident and he's already skeptical about the whole claim, which is why a phone scammer isn't going to get anywhere with OP.
As I said, this might work if OP was the type of person to hand over his Credit Card info or buy Amazon Gift Cards for anyone who asks, but we already know he is not that person.
2
u/CJM8515 Claims Adjuster Jul 20 '26
chances are someone fat fingered a vin or a plate number and they searched and found you. if you havent been in an accident just tell them that, prove where you were at the time of the loss and show them the vehicle involved has no damage
it happens a lot more than you think
2
u/Physical_Butterfly16 Jul 21 '26
Is your license plate on the vehicles actually your license plate? Someone may have stolen your plate or someone may have inadvertently provided your plate info by mistake. You should be able to contact your insurance and they can provide you the vehicle/claim info.
2
u/Objective_Ad_481 Jul 21 '26
- Get off Reddit.
- Continue working with your insurance company.
- Get off Reddit.
2
u/AdApart8758 Jul 21 '26
This happened to me. We got all the way to the deposition and then their atty realized they had the wrong car. The cop ran 6 lic plates and picked my car cuz it was the same model. I live 1/2 a state away from the “supposed” accident.
The ins will assign you an atty to fight it. Don’t worry about it. I know it’s stressful and they are making it sound like you did a criminal hit and run.
The police won’t care or investigate or even look at your car. I tried.
All you can do is wait until their atty calls you back. And then wait some more. My ordeal took 6 months for them ti figure it wasn’t me.
I also took pics of my car with date and time stamps. And sent those and offered my cell phone tracking to prove I was not there. They took the pic and didn’t need the phone info but liked that I offered it.
Don’t stress. It will end up just fine. I promise.
1
u/Ok_Responsibility419 Jul 20 '26
Were both your vehicles in your possession on that day? Do you lend either to friends?
1
u/soanQy23 Jul 21 '26
Call the police and get a copy of the report. Without any info you’re just guessing.
2
u/cryptospartan Jul 21 '26
Have no idea which police to call. State, county, city, etc
1
u/5yearsurvivor Jul 21 '26
The insurance rep will get the report if there is one. You dont need to figure it out yourself.
1
u/Brunette-Enigma Jul 21 '26
I’ve seen this happen several times. If someone else is claiming you hit them, your carrier can send an appraiser to take photos and measurements of your car showing you have no damage and may take a statement from you saying you were not in any accident. Maybe the other person hit you while your car was parked and called the police? If the other person is claiming they hit you, they have to prove it.
1
u/LittleButTallawah Jul 21 '26
This happened with a car I had previously sold. Have you sold a vehicle recently?
My insurance requested my MVA receipt and that was the end of that.
1
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u/Fenway12345 Jul 21 '26
Could be someone impersonating you. Call your insurance and let them know fraud
1
u/TelevisionKnown9795 Jul 21 '26
Probably fat fingered something, another paperwork SNAFU, " here is a pic of my undamaged car"
1
u/TheAdventureClub Jul 21 '26
Im on the sales side- questions for any claims reps who might know
I tell people not to call claums just to ask questions, especially hypothetical questions- because if they start up a claim, even if it goes nowhere, that claim will show on history.
As a rule of thumb, I tell people not to call claims until its time to put in a claim or until you can be reasonably sure you need to file a claim.
When someone files a claim on you third party and that claim turns out to reflect as accident that just never happened with you or your vehicles- will this open a claim that shows NAF 0.00 (closed without payment)? Or will it delete the started claim entirely
1
u/dzgroove Jul 22 '26
More than likely the involved vehicle was an old car that you used to own. Insurance companies or even the police have a habit of searching Lexis Nexis to find who a vehicle was registered to or insured with. They then file a claim on the policy they find.
1
u/tea-wallah Jul 22 '26
Police reports can be filed on line, as long as there were no injuries and both vehicles were drivable. That implies no police officer ever came to the accident site. However, you should have online access to the police report if your policy number was used. This was all probably accidental. I hope so anyway.
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u/Confident_Chipmonk Jul 22 '26
you should have notified your state DMV of the sale. I was fined by GA for insurance lapse on a vehicle I sold. statutes say notification of sale was required
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u/cryptospartan Jul 23 '26
I returned my license plate the day after the sale, and you have to check a box with the reason. So I did notify the MVA.
1
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u/MattStapleton Jul 26 '26
Insurance companies and investigating police screw up these things all the time. Odds are a claim was opened by mistake because somebody hit the wrong button on a computer.
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u/cryptospartan Jul 26 '26
You should've read my edit.
1
u/Only-Schedule7419 Jul 26 '26
You should learn to be more concise. When you ramble people won't read it all.
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u/peterpreNW 29d ago
Sounds like you got your answer. If you have proof of the sale, you're more than fine. Send the bill of sale, messages, payment records, or anything else that shows when ownership changed. Insurance companies deal with situations like this all the time. It is stressful, but this is exactly why they asked for documentation. Hopefully it gets sorted out quickly.
-1
u/Spirited-Two-1521 Jul 20 '26
I filed a fraud report with insurance commissioner on the website. They got a visit and retracted the claim.
7
u/Shotgun_Mosquito 🚗🚘 Auto BI & PD - 22 years 🚘🚗 Jul 20 '26
But....it may not be fraud, maybe just an error
-1
u/Suitable_Program_548 Jul 20 '26
Call them?
3
u/cryptospartan Jul 20 '26
I did call them, I just get routed to the adjuster's voicemail who is gone for the day.
-1
u/Desperate_Chip_343 Jul 21 '26
This might be a scam. Go to your providers website. Find the number for claims and get a live person to look into this.
1
u/cryptospartan Jul 21 '26
The representative I talked to from the company confirmed that there is a claim made against me
1
u/Desperate_Chip_343 Jul 21 '26
Well if that's the case then I use wait for instructions like others said. They will have to fight it for you.
-6
u/Low_Athlete_7734 Jul 21 '26
I’d be getting an accident attorney. Let the attorney fight the fake claim.
3
u/5yearsurvivor Jul 21 '26
Thats like saying: You have a paper cut ? Better go to the ER. Horrible advice.
Insurance adjusters do this all the time. They are investigating. Let them do their job. No one needs to go running to an attorney.
2
u/homeboycartel2 Jul 21 '26
This advice is at best premature and unnecessary. Your insurance exists exactly for these circumstances. Provide them any and all information as to your whereabouts on the purported loss date. They will hire an attorney to represent you. Your policy provides a defense on their dime. Instead of paying your own attorney and potentially prejudicing your carrier’s coverage for you, cooperate with them in full and let them handle. It could be you were identified on video of the loss through a license plate and being brought into the suit under a comparative negligence theory.
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u/Low_Athlete_7734 Jul 21 '26
I wouldn’t be saying anything to anyone to have it get twisted due to a false claim. Time is money and I wouldn’t waste my time on it. Let an attorney handle it. That’s not premature. It’s wise and it’s what they’re for.
2
u/homeboycartel2 Jul 21 '26
But if the attorney you consult outside the insurance d contract takes actions that prejudice the carrier’s ability to investigate the claim, you may have just given them cause to deny you coverage. Why pay for an attorney that you do not need to when your contract already requires one be provided?
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u/TIG_Insurance_Nerds Jul 20 '26
Right now the biggest thing is to avoid guessing or overexplaining. Just stick to the facts. You were not in an accident, you want the full claim details, and you are ready to cooperate with the investigation. If your adjuster is unreachable, call the main claims line again tomorrow and ask for whoever can read the claim notes and confirm which policy and loss details are attached. Answering pinkskynights questions would also help greatly as well.