Washington State encodes your last name, first initial, middle initial, and your date of birth into your driver’s license number. This online program by Alan De Smet will calculate them for you.

His site also has the best explanation I could find of how the system works:

These license numbers look like the following:

• WOO**JT547KA - “John T. Woo” born on May 1st, 1946
• WALKECR577DU - “Christopher R. Walken” born on March 31st, 1943
• LLLLLFMYYXmb - Pattern deciphered below

Deciphering the Number Read the rest of this post »»

From KHOU news in Houston, Texas:

Robbins Autoplex has been around since the 1930s. It is family-owned and operated. The Humble dealership has weathered many storms, but none like the case of veteran employee Tobias Green. Green was arrested early Wednesday on charges of burning cars for customers. He is charged with arson and insurance fraud.

As 11 News first reported, Green allegedly called his scheme the “rotisserie special.” Investigators say he’d torch cars for customers, but there was a catch. They had to agree to use the insurance money to buy a new vehicle from him.
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Many companies now use credit scores to determine rates. Statistically those who have accidents also have poor credit. It is probably a combination of the fact that 1) when you are not able to pay your bills you are distracted and more likely to have an accident and 2) if you are irresponsible about your bills you will probably be irresponsible with your driving habits. As with all statistics they do not apply to individuals just to groups. Everyone with bad credit thinks they are a good driver, just like every 17 year old thinks he is a good driver.

Well, now that credit is being used for insurance rates, what else can be used as a predictor of future accidents? Why not the oldest ’science’ of them all - Astrology!

From Insurance Journal:

Many people turn to the stars for direction in matters of money, love and happiness. Now, according to a survey conducted by Prudential Car Insurance in the United Kingdom, it appears that the zodiac may also play a role in driving behaviors.

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Michelle Durand writes in the San Mateo County Daily Journal about some auto body shop owners in California who are facing jail time for insurance fraud:

A Redwood City body shop owner nabbed with nine others in an undercover auto fraud string last December will face trial for allegedly inflating an insurance repair estimate unless he agrees to a plea at the end of the state.

Yohannes Mesfine, 47, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges and is scheduled to possibly agree to a plea bargain Sept. 23, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. The offer would discount state prison, Wagstaffe said.

Mesfine owns Mesfine Auto Body and Paint in Redwood City. He and nine others were arrested in December as part of Operation Scorpion, a joint undercover sting by the state and the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office insurance fraud unit. The operation targeted 13 auto body repair shops throughout the county. Of those, nine reportedly gave fraudulent repair estimates.

In each case, investigators brought the shops a car they claimed occurred during a hit-and-run, making the damage insured. They then pointed out some damage that occurred prior to the accident and asked the auto body shop owners to include it in the insurance estimate.

The body shop owner tells the client he is doing him a favor - and now both of them are committing insurance fraud. Something that seems so innocent and can be rationalized by saying you have been paying premium for so long and never turned in a claim to get it fixed - well - is it worth jail time?