In What States Is a False Accident Report Considered a Felony?

Filing a false accident report can range in severity from a relatively minor offense to a serious crime punishable by prison time and prodigious fines. For instance, embellishing the details of a legitimate car accident in your favor might be classified as a misdemeanor in many states. On the other hand, staging a car accident for the purpose of defrauding an auto insurance company may be categorized as a felony in some states. Read on to learn how different states categorize the crime of filing a false accident report.

Form of Fraud

At the time of this writing, only about 50 percent of states in the U.S. classify insurance fraud or the attempt to commit insurance fraud as a felony. Such states usually differentiate among various types of fraud and structure the punishment accordingly. For example, in New York, if filing a fake accident report is classified as “insurance fraud in the fifth degree,” the offense would qualify only as a class-A misdemeanor. On the other hand, insurance fraud in the first degree is labeled a class-B felony.

The most egregious false accident reports usually involve staging an auto accident. These crimes carry the stiffest penalties and are often considered felonies. For instance, in Florida, staging a car accident qualifies as a second-degree felony punishable by two to 15 years in prison.

In states where auto insurance fraud is not a felony, false car accident reports are typically prosecuted as forgery, theft, or bribery. The state and the department of insurance handle the prosecution of insurance-related fraud.