What is Double Dipping a Car Insurance Accident Claim? (Definition & Legality)

Car insurance is meant to protect the owner of a vehicle in case it is damaged or destroyed through circumstances beyond their control. In the event of collisions, there is usually one party at fault which results in their insurance company paying for the damages.

In such cases, claims can only be filed with the insurance company which is paying for the repair or replacement of a vehicle.

However, what happens if the insurance company of the driver who is not at fault is contacted and a claim is filed as well? That is called double dipping insurance.

While there are no official statistics that list how often double dipping a car insurance claim occurs, it is something that still happens to this day.

It should be noted that double dipping car insurance is illegal and you can be prosecuted under the law.

Enter your five-digit zip code in the box above to start comparing quotes the right way and avoid issues that stem from double dipping insurance.

How does double dipping car insurance work?

If you are the driver of the vehicle that is not at fault in the accident, the repair or replacement costs will be paid for by the insurance company of the driver who was at fault.

However, if a claim is also filed to your insurance company, then you may receive an additional payment for repairing or replacing your vehicle. Remember that.

Those who have asked, “Can 2 people insure the same car?” or “Can I have 2 insurance policies?” often do so because they are actively trying to find a way to make their insurance as cheap as possible.

Insurance rates will fluctuate depending upon where you live in the country. For example, those who have wondered about Virginia auto insurance double dipping or asked, “Can you overlap car insurance?” are simply trying to find affordable rates close to where they live.

When it comes to how much insurance rates can increase, take a look at the following table to see average increases for drivers who transition from a clean record to one accident.

Drivers who fall into the “clean record” category will wonder, “Can you use your no claims bonus on more than one car?” But once these drivers get a citation on their record, they are quick to research double insurance, double insuring a car, and double claim insurance.

Double dipping assumes that neither insurance company nor the driver of the other vehicle is contacted about the additional claim that is filed. If the money is paid to you through a reimbursement, then theoretically no one but you will know about the double dip.

Besides, it is also possible that you may have more than one auto insurance company cover your vehicle. In fact, there is no restriction on the number of insurance companies that issue policies on your car. It is a practice that insurance companies and the insurance industry disapprove of. In the vast majority of cases, you’ll want to focus on having and maintaining one comprehensive insurance policy.

However, there is virtually no way for them to know if you have multiple insurance policies on a single vehicle since information is only shared when claims are filed. And the amount of time it takes for an accident to affect your insurance varies on a few factors.

Why is double dipping car insurance illegal?

Double dipping is illegal for many reasons, but most importantly because you are essentially being paid twice instead of once for the coverage of your vehicle.

Before the days of the internet, digital records, and fast communication between insurance companies, this form of fraud could be difficult to catch. That’s why you find a lot of people going to their favorite search engines or law sites like Lawers.com to figure out if it’s possible to get the other party to pay for the accident even if their insurance provider already paid them out.

So, while exact numbers are not known from the days before the internet, it was a big enough issue that it required specific laws to be passed in each state to punish those who cheated the system.

As this video shows, double dipping isn’t the only type of fraud that insurance companies, and the law, look for:

In the end, insurance fraud is not worth the risk.

Claims are Tracked Easily Today

Today, it is far harder to get away with double dipping because of the internet and in particular stricter rules by insurance companies that make tracking their claims much easier compared to a few decades ago.

Claims are now tracked more efficiently, and the communication between insurance companies helps to reduce the chances of two claims being successfully filed considerably.

However, double dipping car insurance still occurs and for those who might be tempted it should be noted that such an act is illegal in all states and punishable under the law.

Take advantage of our free online tool to find the right provider and avoid any issues related to double dipping insurance.