There are many types of car insurance scams, but when it comes to the business end of things scamming the customers, the form of cheap car insurance is the most popular. If you seek cheap car insurance in Peoria, be on the lookout for anything that matches the following description, in order to avoid being scammed.
#1. The specifics
A “cheap” car insurance scam is when a false company promises a car insurance deal that’s too good for a person desperate to hold onto cash can pass up. They get your money, and when you actually have to file a claim with them, expect the phone line to be dead, and the office empty. The scam artist has absconded with your money, your time, and now your car, depending on the damage dealt.
#2. What can be done?
There are many telltale signs that the company you’re dealing with is less than truthful about their legitimacy. These include, but are not limited to:
- An “agent” from the company offers to backdate the policy
- The company requests immediate, full payment through cash
- The paperwork or advertising has multiple typos, demonstrating a lack of a professional team of proofreaders and PR experts.
- Considerably lower price than the average for the state you’re in
- The company does not give you an ID card when you sign onto their insurance plan
That last one in particular is something you need to watch out for. No insurance company worth their salt will refrain from handing you an ID card when you’ve signed onto them. Also when you become interested in an insurance company, look them up on insurance sites, or Google customer reviews of the company. If they’re mostly negative, or outright non-existent, than you have a problem. Finally, check their website for the moniker HTTPS (as opposed to HTTP). This means that the site is secured through professional systems and security measures. Always check for this moniker with any site you want to give personal information to, in order to ensure that your personal information is kept safe.
Ideally, you want to make sure you know if they’re a scam or not before you sign on with them, but things don’t always work out that perfectly. If you’ve signed on with a cheap car insurance company, but have become suspicious about their behavior, call someone to investigate them more thoroughly, so you can be sure before confronting them and demanding your money back.
