Tie Fraud

[zippyh]

So what sf user is this?

A Lynnwood man has been charged with insurance fraud after claiming that car thieves had made off with his $33,000 collection of silk neckties, according to the state Insurance Commissioner's office.​

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...iescam23m.html

 

[Macallan9]

Originally Posted by zippyh

So what sf user is this?

A Lynnwood man has been charged with insurance fraud after claiming that car thieves had made off with his $33,000 collection of silk neckties, according to the state Insurance Commissioner's office.​

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...iescam23m.html

I was always curious about this....has anyone had renters/homeowners insurance and had their stuff stolen? What does the insurance company say when you file for 6000 dollars worth of shoes?

 

[WRAdvisor]

I work in insurance and you BETTER have some sort of records when it comes to expensive clothing. Scamming home owners insurance companies on claims for clothing is one of the easiest and most frauded items. When you think about it, who's to say that you DIDN'T have 10 pairs of Lobb's or 5 RLPL suits.

I keep very accurate records of all purchases I make, especially clothing/shoes. I keep all receipts, and once a month, me or my wife make a trip to the bank and put them in the safety deposit box.

 

[Macallan9]

Originally Posted by WRAdvisor

I work in insurance and you BETTER have some sort of records when it comes to expensive clothing. Scamming home owners insurance companies on claims for clothing is one of the easiest and most frauded items. When you think about it, who's to say that you DIDN'T have 10 pairs of Lobb's or 5 RLPL suits.

I keep very accurate records of all purchases I make, especially clothing/shoes. I keep all receipts, and once a month, me or my wife make a trip to the bank and put them in the safety deposit box.

Easiest....so you don't need great records?

What if you buy things at a discount/online? Do you file a claim for full retail or what you paid? After all, there's no guarantee you can get the discounted price again.

You have records of everything, even things from years back?

 

[WRAdvisor]

We simply have a manila envelope with the year on it, once a new year starts, a new manila envelope. I have receipts from 1995 when I purchased my first higher-end watch.

If you buy things online, you can still get a receipt or credit card statement. Along with keeping all your receipts you should also be keeping an inventory of what you have. Insurance adjusters will use receipts and inventory records to determine the value of your claim.

 

[Shikar]

I used pictures of my closet and itemized values/description next to the picture. Did this when I filed a claim...... Tropical Storm Allison flooded my home a few years ago

.
The insurance company had no problem and paid.

Regards.

 

[SimonC]

Ditto - I walk around the house every 6 months and take date-stamped photos of each room and the contents which are then kept in the office. That way, I've got a relatively recent record. If a claim were to occur I'd probably not claim full retail for everything, but even at discounted prices it rapidly adds up...

 

[Macallan9]

Originally Posted by Shikar

I used pictures of my closet and itemized values/description next to the picture. Did this when I filed a claim...... Tropical Storm Allison flooded my home a few years ago

.
The insurance company had no problem and paid.

Regards.

Itemized values = retail values, or what you paid?

I never thought about documenting everything. Hooray for SF.

 

[WRAdvisor]

Itemized value = cost to replace or the "market value" of the product

Going even further, you should be taking inventory of EVERYTHING. Take a walk through your kitchen and itemize anything worth more than $25 and you'll be covered. Toaster? Blender? Wok? All of it is covered, as long as you have proper documentation and record-keeping.

Bad record-keeping is the #1 fault in most homes. Think about it, you spend $250K+ on a home and then are forced to buy insurance....you better believe I'm getting everything out of the insurance company if something should happen.

 

[Holdfast]

Originally Posted by Shikar

I used pictures of my closet...

Yep, I do this too, every once in a while. Probably ends up being done once a year. Hopefully if the worst happens, my insurer will be as good as yours was. Even more hopefully, I'll never need to find out!

I do backup the photos onto a DVD kept well out away from the laptop, so even if that gets nicked, there's still a backup somewhere!

 

[slappy]

You should backup your photos online. I pay $25 a year to flickr and have probably 50+ gigs of pictures on there. I also have all pictures on a home server I built. Honestly in a fire the one thing Id be worried about losing would be pictures and home videos as they aren't replaceable. A while back I scanned all the non-digital photos I had.

 

[bigbris1]

I happen to have pics of my entire home and since mostly everything was purchased via the intewebz I should be covered, right? Thanks to SF I have pics of my clothes but she's screwed

 

[Macallan9]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

I happen to have pics of my entire home and since mostly everything was purchased via the intewebz I should be covered, right? Thanks to SF I have pics of my clothes but she's screwed

I'd love to hear you explain the pictures to the insurance agent.

Im going to go through my house and do this tonight, make up a spreadsheet...sounds like a fun little project.

 

[ZON_JR]

Most people here would be able to show their ebay buy page:

AE Park Avenues in wrong size: $11.50
"Brionni" suit: $133.75
Merona brand Nantucket Reds $9.99 (Buy It Now)


etc.

 

[Bounder]

Originally Posted by WRAdvisor

I work in insurance and you BETTER have some sort of records when it comes to expensive clothing.
Heh. How do you think the average insurance adjuster will react to someone bringing in a bunch of his WAYWN pictures he downloaded from the internet that feature him and his expensive clothing posing in various public restrooms?