Then there are those rare individuals who reason that if one insurance scam is good, two are even better.
Nicholas Di Puma of Walton, N.Y., was just such a dreamer. Di Puma torched his home and his convertible to collect on his homeowners and auto insurance.
According to Di Puma, it all started when pans on his stove ignited. After trying to extinguish the inferno with a rag, Di Puma said he threw the first pan out the door, where it landed in the backseat of his convertible. While en route to tossing the second pan outside, he tripped and the pan landed on his couch.
Unbelievable? That's what local law enforcement thought, too. He received five years of probation -- and no insurance benefits, of course.
"Many people do think of insurance fraud as a harmless prank or payback for perceived high premiums they've paid for years," says Quiggle. "On the other hand, you have crimes that are committed that no one ever knows about. People simply get away with insurance fraud. That figure never gets added to the true cost of insurance fraud."