A high-quality dashcam has the tech to protect you and your family
Accident fraud happens more often than you'd think, but a good dashcam can capture what really occurred during a fender bender.
Have you taken the blame for something you didn’t do? Of course—it happens to all of us. But the stakes get higher when someone falsely accuses you of causing a road accident. Avoid this unpleasant situation by installing a high-quality dashcam in your car.
Yes, pretty much everyone has tasted the indignation of a false accusation. Like that time as a child when you got in trouble for your sibling’s prank. Or the mistake at work your colleague made but didn’t own up to—and you took the blame.
Now imagine that false accusation comes complete with the trauma and inconvenience of a crashed car, exorbitant medical bills from a liar saying you ran into them, and—as a result—higher insurance premiums for the next several years. You’d be absolutely apoplectic, right?
Combat crash-for-cash schemes
Well, this scenario is playing out all over the world and, increasingly, all across the US. In the UK, it’s called crash for cash, and it’s rampant.
It may also be about to get a whole lot worse thanks to recent changes to the UK highway code. These actually make it easier for perpetrators to keep up their antics. In China, they call it peng ci, which roughly translates to “breaking porcelain,” and cases there can get pretty extreme.
In the US, crash for cash is known as Staged Accident Insurance Fraud. Whatever you call it, it’s a multi-billion-dollar problem, often coordinated by organized crime. It’s one of the very best reasons for buying and installing a high-quality dashcam in your car.
A dashcam is an always-on silent witness that rides along with you, capturing video evidence to help prove fault in the event of an incident. That video can eliminate ambiguous situations after accidents that may result in an unfair assessment of blame or split liability. For these reasons, a crisp, clear record of events becomes even more important.
Add impressive dashcam technology to your vehicle
More than just another mobile camera, high-quality dashcams, like the best-selling Nextbase Series 2 range, are impressive pieces of technology designed for a very challenging application.
High-quality dashcams have a big job. The camera needs to capture video clear enough to read license plates and streets signs no matter the visibility. It must also capture footage through the glass of your windscreen and critical details at speed.
What’s more, it also needs to record constantly, saving only critical moments and continuously overwriting the rest. High-quality dashcams produce 4K video, automatically save files when an incident happens, and make sharing that footage easy.
And that’s just basic camera functionality. The top-of-the-range Nextbase 622GW incorporates enhanced camera features including image stabilization for bumpy roads, super slow-motion playback for viewing crucial details, and more.
Other features from the realm of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) include Amazon Alexa integration, full GPS with What3Words locating system, and Intelligent Parking Mode. There’s also Emergency SOS (E-SOS), which automatically contacts emergency services when it detects a crash.
Take part in the growing dashcam market
With roads becoming increasingly unpredictable, it’s no wonder that dashcam usage is growing rapidly in the US. In fact, according to The NPD Group, dashcam sales in the US eclipsed another well-known camera category last year: action cams.
Yes, dashcams are some of the fastest-growing consumer electronics segments, with sales rising more than 20% each year for the last 3 years. And, in the last 12 months, they rose 30%. In fact, US dashcam sales were up more than 95% year-over-year in December 2021.
Take advantage of waived deductibles in the US
But North America still lags behind the UK, where about 1 in every 7 cars has a dashcam. One big reason for that cultural disparity is how auto insurance works in each country.
In the UK, every major insurer accepts dashcam footage as evidence in processing claims, and more than half offer a premium discount for cam usage. Thus far in the US, no major insurers offer a discount for dashcam usage.
At the same time, however, more and more US drivers successfully prove their innocence with dashcam footage. Afterward, some insurers even waive deductibles and avoid premium hikes.
However, the practice hasn’t made it into consumer insurance policy or been officially sanctioned. Though it’s worth noting that US commercial fleet insurance policies often require their drivers to use dashcams.
Lower your insurance costs with a premium dashcam
Nevertheless, there’s mounting evidence, on both sides of the pond, of the benefits of dashcam usage. Those benefits include cost savings for the insurer and insured, better customer service, and overall improvements in road safety.
In fact, data shows that high-quality dashcams have a measurably positive impact on behavior behind the wheel. According to Nextbase, a UK study found that 68% of drivers exhibited a 25% improvement in their driving behavior score after installing a dashcam*.
Ensure accurate accident documentation
Not surprisingly, in addition to the speed of claims processing, dashcam footage also improves accuracy. Incomplete evidence, including conflicting statements from involved parties and witnesses, frequently makes it impossible to clearly establish fault.
This results in split liability, a costly scenario in which no one ends up happy. Thanks to dashcam footage, the company says that a London insurance agency was able to prove innocence in 37% of split-liability claims.
Overall, faster and more accurate claims processing means lower costs for the company and happier customers—especially when some of those cost savings go to consumers in the form of lower premiums.
End accident insurance fraud once
And that brings us back to crash for cash. Insurance fraud amounts to $80 billion in theft every year, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. And, of course, insurers factor those losses into their pricing to stay in the business. The result is higher insurance premiums for everyone.
Now, imagine if everyone in the US had high-quality dashcams in their cars. With clear evidence of actual events on the road, it would be more difficult for fraudsters to stage crashes and make false claims. And, as fraud costs decrease, the price of insuring vehicles would come down, too.
This scenario is already underway in the UK, Europe, and other parts of the world, so it’s only a matter of time before the same market dynamics come to the US.
Whether your primary motivation is protecting your family and possessions, paying lower prices for auto insurance, or avoiding false accusations, it’s time to get a dashcam. Check out the company’s official website for more information.
*This is based on a year-long survey conducted in 2020 by a group of UK-based insurers of approximately 200 Nextbase Dash Cam owners both male and female, ages 17+, utilizing a telemetric black box for 6 months prior to ownership and 6 months thereafter.
