More Than I Want to Know About Insurance Scams

Someone who has spent a lifetime in the horse world gets wise to cons pretty early. There was the farrier who recommended shoes with bars until he saw me spread hay in the pasture out of my VW Golf. He decided barefoot would be better for my mare after that. There was the saddle fitter with ‘exactly’ the right saddle for my husband’s high-withered, short-backed, narrow horse who then tried to sell him expensive pads and inserts to go with it. And, we all know the trainer who always has a horse that’s just much better suited for you or your kid and only costs a tiny bit more to lease each month.  

Horse people, we’ve pretty much seen it all. Still, I’m apparently a babe in the woods when it comes to insurance cons. This one shocked (and delighted) even me.

Apparently, there’s a part of the country — that might or might not be Texas — where there is an abundance of the key ingredients needed for this con:

1. Lots of people who want to drive really nice trucks;

2. Lots of people who apparently don’t know how to drive at all; and,

3. A fair number of insurance agents who play golf with someone’s dad.

Here’s how it works. This young guy buys a brand-new truck. It’s his first big purchase. Let’s say it’s a 2019 Chevy Silverado 2500 with a full tow package, four doors, a covered bed, etc. This is an expensive truck, let’s say $50,000, and this guy finances it over 5 years.  So, he’s had the truck a few months and put about 5,000 miles on it; when, someone runs a red light and plows into him, demolishing the front quarter panel and door on the passenger side.  The frame is bent, but the engine is fine. It’s going to cost $15,000 to fix it, but that’s less than it’s worth; so, that’s what happens, right? Wrong. This guy loved that truck. It was mint. They’ll fix it good as new.  No one will be able to tell. But, he’ll know. He’s got 55 more moths of payments to make on a truck that just makes him sad. So, this guy is crushed and his insurance agent knows it. This insurance agent, well he plays golf with the guy’s dad and his wife works the food drive at church with the guy’s mom. He wants to help. So, on paper he totals the truck. The kid gets a check big enough to get a brand-new truck with a few less bells and whistles. The old truck goes to the salvage auction to be sold for parts.  

Now, there’s this other guy who owns a body shop — that might or might not be in Maryland. He’s on the website for a salvage auction in Texas to look for parts and he sees a picture of a really nice truck that’s practically brand new and has been totaled but doesn’t really look like it should have been totaled. He bids just a little higher than the ‘parts’ price; let’s say $10,000. His bid wins and the truck is shipped to Maryland where he swaps out the frame, the front quarter panel, etc. He’s invested maybe $25,000 total in this truck.

Enter, skeptical horsewoman looking for a used, big-ass truck. Here’s a truck that’s a year old, has 5,000 miles on it, all the bells and whistles; it’s valued at $45,000 but is being offered for $35,000.  What’s the catch? She calls her insurance agent; he’s totally cool with covering a truck with a salvage VIN. It passes both state inspection and inspection by a mechanic she pays to basically look in every nook and cranny. The manufacturer warranty is void, but the guy selling it has a repair shop and he writes a one-year/10,000-mile warranty into the deal.

So, she buys it; still kind of wondering if she’s being someone’s patsy. But honestly, the only patsy in this deal seems to be the insurance company that wrote a check for a totaled vehicle that wasn’t. And our horsewoman, she’s okay with that.  Insurance companies — they run the shadiest con of all, right?

Now, she just needs to find a way to get her 87-year old, 4 foot 11 inch mom up into that truck and all will be right with the world.