For every company, safety is the first priority and creates a solid foundational environment for everything else to fit into nicely. Within the broad term of safety, we can talk about driver safety and passenger safety, but sometimes the general safety of the company itself is overlooked. Every safe company protects itself from false claims. This is an unfortunate reality, but one that has to be addressed.
What is the average cost of a claim?
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says, “the average car insurance premium in the U.S. is $815; do the math and you’ll find that means making a claim would cost the typical policyholder an additional $335 more per year in premiums.” A few hundred dollars doesn’t seem devastating to a large company, but increased insurance costs can make business difficult. These increased costs could come from even submitting one claim. Imagine if you had to submit multiple claims a year. The business could be in trouble fast.
The $335 is just for a good driver with good credit — rates vary widely depending on your history. National average car insurance rates are:
– $1,592 for a good driver with good credit.
– $2,439 after an at-fault wreck.
– $2,812 for a good driver with poor credit.
– $3,114 after a DUI
Auto Insurance can turn into a massive financial burden if you and your fleet don’t take proper measures to avoid accidents and fight false claims. “The median cost of commercial auto insurance is $142 per month or $1,704 per year” (Insureon). Even a minor increase in price could turn into a problem with a large fleet.
Any potential claims will depend on the type of vehicle involved and the extent of damage done to both vehicles and humans.
According to CRC Insurance Services:
The average cost for large-truck accidents is about $120,000, while crashes involving tractor-trailers average $382,000. If fatalities are involved, the average cost goes up to $4.8 million. However, it should be noted that these numbers do not account for the rising cost of repair and liability since the report was first published in 2007. With accidents increasing, claims costs are about two times more likely to exceed $100,000.
How often do false claims occur?
Have you ever been in an accident where someone faked an injury? It happens more often than you think, especially when a company vehicle is involved. Some people will try to create false claims in order to get a settlement out of your company. If you have the proper camera system, however, you can fight those claims and prove your innocence at any time.
Instances of fraud are way higher than most would think. “Of the total, 56% of fraud referrals and 74% of fraud arrests were auto-related” (PA Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority).
The Insurance Information Institute says, “Fraud accounted for between 15 percent and 17 percent of total claims payments for auto insurance bodily injury in 2012.” Nearly one in five claims payments–not simply accidents–were based on fraud. That adds up quickly.
There is a multitude of different examples of false claims. Faking an injury during an accident is a common one. False workers’ compensation claims can also be common in larger companies due to workers believing they could easily win a case by faking an on-job injury. If your company runs buses or deals with NEMT, the loading and unloading of passengers can cause false claims to surface. Without a camera, you would most likely be out of luck.
How do I prevent false claims?
Every company, small and large, needs to protect itself from potential false claims. The best way to do that is to install a robust camera system. The real-time audio and video recordings will speak for themselves during a potential false claim. If your video disproves someone’s false claim, you can immediately notify the proper authorities. If the video isn’t helpful, perhaps the audio will reveal an audible statement contradicting the false claimant.
In the event that a camera gets destroyed in an accident, all of the video and audio recorded by that camera up to the point of destruction will be available for review on the cloud. The 4G LTE upload system allows the cameras to get their data to the user so that there is no need for any sort of recovery process to access recorded data.
False claims are part of doing business, but they can be fought and won with the proper camera system. Vestige’s camera system gives owners the ability to protect their employees, clients and their business reputation all at once. Without cameras, you are setting yourself up to become a target for false claims that you cannot prove.
