You didn't want or need EMS at your fender bender? You're getting billed anyway. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Car accidents are not something anyone likes dealing with. Paying an auto insurance deductible is not fun, nor is dealing with the physical repercussions of the event. Motorists now have something else to contend with. There is a new idea that emergency service departments are starting to use, called a crash tax. If you get in an accident outside of the area you live in, regardless of fault or if you get injured, and get checked out by EMS, expect a bill — a large bill.

‘Crash tax’ bills are regardless of fault

The way the ‘crash tax’ works is relatively simple. If a person, outside the tax jurisdiction he or she lives in gets in an accident and is checked out by emergency services — even without asking — that person gets a bill for it. The bill is not huge, but it isn’t much to sneeze at either. Typically, it appears to be a few hundred dollars. New York Times reports that one crash tax bill recipient was billed $200, and a Chicago Tribune piece profiled a woman who received a bill for $350. Neither asked for treatment of any kind from emergency service personnel, nor had to seek treatment from a hospital.

Some states will not have it

Several states have banned the practice, though they are a minority. So far, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, according to Injuryboard.com, have banned a crash tax. However, often the decision is not made at the state level, but by municipalities. Also referred to as “resource recovery,” the primary motive is to recover funds lost by providing response personnel at the scene of an accident to people from out of the district. Currently, municipalities in 24 states have the crash tax, and fees are especially steep in California.

Insurance does not cover it

Often, a people will be billed for EMS response even if they do not themselves request to be checked out by medics, which an insurance company will not cover. Insurance companies and many other organizations oppose it.

Sources

New York Times

Chicago Tribune

Injuryboard

The accident may have seemed unavoidable -- but was it staged? (Photo: Flickr)

In many states, particularly those with no-fault insurance laws, staged vehicle accidents are on the rise. These accidents are staged by criminals looking to get money out of insurance companies. Some schemes involve innocent victims, while others include large groups of fraudsters. Insurance fraud can be a serious issue that raises rates for everyone — and some states are aiming to battle the bulge.

How staged vehicle accidents work

A staged vehicle accident is an accident that insurance fraudsters set up to make money. There are multiple types of staged accident schemes. Some include two or three cars that have been filled with people that have a minor accident. All the passengers claim injuries that cost the insurance company thousands of dollars. Others set up innocent drivers for an accident that they could not avoid, and then must pay for. No matter what the scheme, a staged vehicle accident is usually difficult to avoid and even more difficult to prove.

The cost of staged car accidents

The cost of staged vehicular accidents can quickly get very high. Passengers can claim hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of injuries. Damage to vehicles can add another 15 to 30 thousand dollars per vehicle. These staged car accidents also increase the cost of insurance for the driver found at-fault. In no-fault insurance states, the cost of insurance in general can spike. This is just the financial cost — there is also a very real danger of personal injury and increased vehicular-related death.

The rise in staged accidents

The number of staged accidents can be very difficult to pin down. Because many of these accidents look “normal,” pegging them as fraud is tough. According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, thus far this year, Florida has seen over 3,000 staged accidents, New York has had 1,680 and California has seen 1,619. Illinois and Texas round out the top five for staged accidents.

See the most common staged accidents

Guidelines to help you file a claim

Car insurance protects you against loss associated with bodily injury and personal damages in the event of an accident. The following guidelines can help you file your claim.

• You must exchange contact information (license plate numbers, name of the insurance company and its phone number) with the other driver involved in the accident. You can also find the contact details of the other driver’s insurer on his insurance identification card.
• Look for witnesses and ask them if they are ready to reveal what they saw in case their account of the accident is required. If they are willing to testify, ask for their names and contact numbers.
• You must get a report prepared by the local law enforcement officers. These officers prepare a report after investigating the accident. In case you cannot reach the law enforcement authorities, you may get your report prepared by the police departments or the local Department of Motor Vehicles.
• You must inform your insurer about the accident as soon as possible. Most insurance companies have 24-hour phone service for filing claims.
• If the other driver is at fault and you do not have collision coverage on your car, you can file a claim against the other driver’s insurer. When you are pursuing a claim through the at-fault driver’s insurance, you must inform the at-fault driver’s insurance company that you will ask for reimbursement for the loss.

If you are not satisfied with the costs of damages reimbursed to you, the appraisal clause of your auto policy can be used to settle the dispute. In such a case, you may also ask your car insurance company for a form of arbitration.