Wednesday, March 14th, 2018
by: Michael Kranzler, Associate
There’s a new game in town that insurers must learn to defend: windshield claims (a.k.a. glass claims). For claimants, they are easy to file and easier to settle, as public policy and safety considerations encourage repairing the damage immediately, to the point where windshield repairs do not even carry a deductible on most policies. Plus, many insurance companies don’t want to spend the time to properly investigate and defend against them.
Of course, this makes glass claims ripe for abuse. Insurers are seeing insureds only report glass claims after being approached about a chip or crack they were not previously aware of. In some instances, we have even found that the repair company had created the chip themselves to generate the business. Some insureds have even found themselves the subject of a glass claim for which they had no knowledge, after their insurance card was copied during a car wash or service appointment and used as the basis to create a claim.
Combatting fraud in glass claims requires fast action, and an understanding of the various ways an insurer may get taken advantage of in this arena. An insurer should have a solid plan for expediting the analysis of each glass claim, cross-referencing the individuals involved with a database of known abusers and arranging for an independent inspection of any allegedly damaged vehicles as soon as possible.
As an insurer, the top priority should always be the safety of its drivers. Second to that, however, is ensuring that “safety” is not invoked as a false flag in order to enable the filing of excessive and abusive glass claim lawsuits.
As insurers begin to fight back against questionable glass claims, the bad actors will move onto another approach, preserving the safety of the insureds without compromising the protections of their insurance coverage.
Tagged under: Tags: Glass Claims , Insurance Claims , Insurance Fraud , Windshield Claims
← Getting Ready for the Big Game – What you need to know about preparing for a trial
| GLG Doubleheader →
Leave a Reply