How it works
The vehicle identification number (VIN) is the most stable identifier in a motor claim. When one VIN appears on several claims the reason is sometimes innocent, such as a genuine second accident, but it is also how duplicate and recycled damage claims surface.
Common forms include unrepaired damage claimed again after a change of insurer, one loss claimed under both a personal and a commercial policy, damaged vehicles bought cheaply and claimed as if the damage were new, and cloned VINs where a stolen vehicle carries the identity of a legitimate one. Repairers and assessors who handle the same vehicle twice may be party to the scheme.
Each claim is filed under a different policy number, sometimes with a different registration and claimant name, so a review that starts from the policy will not see the overlap. It appears when claims are resolved on the vehicle itself and the damage descriptions, photos and repair invoices are compared side by side.
Red flags
- Damage area and description matching an earlier claim on the same VIN, with no record of repair
- VIN that does not match the registration document or the vehicle’s build details
- Change of insurer or owner shortly before a claim on a vehicle with recent losses
- Same repairer or assessor handling successive claims on the vehicle
- Repair invoice from an earlier claim resubmitted, or reused with altered dates or amounts
- Same VIN on claims by different claimants, or in different provinces or states, at overlapping times
Signals the engine evaluates
- Number of claims per resolved VIN across policies, claimants and lines of business, with the time between losses
- Overlap of reported damage areas between claims on the same VIN where no repair was recorded
- Recurrence of the same repairer, assessor or tow operator across claims on one vehicle
- VIN, engine number and registration combinations that conflict across policies, indicating cloning or altered documents
Investigation and response
- 01Hold payment on the newer claim until the earlier damage and its repair are accounted for
- 02Inspect the vehicle and physically confirm the VIN and engine number against the registration documents
- 03Request repair invoices, photos and proof of payment for earlier claims on the same vehicle
- 04Check and report through the industry claims database where membership allows, and refer suspected cloning to SIU and law enforcement