Referred for Insurance Fraud After Adding Coverage Right After a Crash: What Pennsylvania Law Requires

Attorney Answer

Talk to a criminal defense lawyer now, and say nothing more to the insurer, its investigator or the Attorney General's office until you have. The parts of Pennsylvania's insurance-fraud statute that fit a car-crash claim require acting knowingly and with the intent to defraud, and turn on a statement made in support of a claim. Whether anyone made a claim on the policy, and what you intended, are what decide this. Separately, if the car had no insurance at the moment of the crash, that is an offense of its own.

What insurance fraud requires. 18 Pa.C.S. § 4117(a):

(a) Offense defined.-- A person commits an offense if the person does any of the following:

(2) Knowingly and with the intent to defraud any insurer or self-insured, presents or causes to be presented to any insurer or self-insured any statement forming a part of, or in support of, a claim that contains any false, incomplete or misleading information concerning any fact or thing material to the claim.

Other paragraphs of § 4117(a) reach, among other conduct, helping someone else prepare such a statement, and letting another person use your insurance identification card knowingly and with intent to present a fraudulent claim. Under § 4117(d), an offense under § 4117(a)(1) through (8) is a felony of the third degree. An insurer may also sue for its losses from a violation (§ 4117(g)).

How this situation has been prosecuted. In Commonwealth v. Sanchez, 848 A.2d 977 (Pa. Super. 2004), the Superior Court upheld the conviction of an owner who knew a car was uninsured when it crashed, had it added to a new policy, and then signed papers supporting a claim that gave a false date for the accident. That case turned on a claim built on a false statement, and on what the owner knew. Whether a claim was presented on your policy — by you, or by the other driver using the information you gave — is a question your lawyer will want answered first.

The referral itself. The investigator's view of your intent does not decide whether charges are brought. Under § 4117(h), district attorneys and, in some cases, the Attorney General may investigate and bring charges, and § 4117(f) protects an insurer that gives information to an authorized agency.

Driving without coverage. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(a):

(a) General rule.-- Every motor vehicle of the type required to be registered under this title which is operated or currently registered shall be covered by financial responsibility.

And § 1786(d)(1):

(d) Suspension of registration and operating privilege.-- (1) The Department of Transportation shall suspend the registration of a vehicle for a period of three months if it determines the required financial responsibility was not secured as required by this chapter and shall suspend the operating privilege of the owner or registrant for a period of three months if the department determines that the owner or registrant has operated or permitted the operation of the vehicle without the required financial responsibility.

Operating without the required coverage is also a summary offense with a $300 fine under § 1786(f). The other driver's damage is still owed by whoever is legally responsible for the crash.

What you can do

1. Talk to a Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer before you speak to the police, an investigator or anyone else about this, and do not write out your account of what happened for anyone in the meantime. What you say can be used as evidence.

2. Gather, for your lawyer only, the policy documents showing when the coverage was bought, and any messages with the other driver and with the insurer.

3. Do not contact the other driver about the referral or the crash.

4. Do not change, cancel or discard any document connected with the policy.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Pennsylvania attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. If you receive a letter, subpoena or summons, the date on it controls. The other driver can bring a claim for the damage within two years of the crash under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(3).