How much would you charge for Insurance fraud?

While refueling my shiny white Lexus at a local gas station the other day, I ran into a station manager who I have known casually for a number of years.

“I have a question for you,” he said:” My cousin asked me if I know a body shop. He had the third seat stolen from his Chevy Tahoe. Insurance company told him they would pay a body shop to replace it. How much would you charge him to cash this check?”

“Do you even realize that you are asking me to commit Insurance fraud and jeopardize my business and my reputation for a few bucks?” I thought:” Which by the way is a federal offence punishable by prison sentence?”

But All I said was:” I don’t even get involved in stuff like that.” End of story, but the reason I am writing about it is because as a shop owner I get propositioned to do something like that on regular basis. In other words a growing number of our citizens see absolutely nothing wrong with defrauding their insurance company.

“They are so big, they can afford it,” they say. But the real question is can we afford it? Can we afford to have such an attitude?”  Insurance companies did not get to be so big and powerful by being stupid or unaware. They are well informed of fraud that is being perpetrated against them on regular basis. They have created special investigative units within their companies to prevent it, but more than that they have included losses from fraud as cost of doing business. How does this affect you, the consumer? To recoup their losses from fraud Insurance companies are cutting costs on repairs by using aftermarket parts etc..., which simply put means your vehicle once in an accident will not be fully restored to pre accidental condition. Can we really afford that? What do you think?