What is double dipping with insurance?

Insurance double dipping occurs when a claim is filed with two different insurance companies. This can happen with auto insurance or health insurance, and is against the law in the United States. For legal purposes, filing the same or similar claims more than once, whether different insurance companies or the same one, is a type of fraud and may be treated as a felony offense.

In auto insurance, double dipping is when a victim files a claim against the at-fault driver's insurance company, and then files a duplicate claim with their own insurance. It is called double sipping because the same claim is being used twice. In practice, such claims result in a profit for the claimant, exceeding the amount of damage or injuries. If this situation is noticed by insurance companies, both companies may challenge the claim on the grounds of fraud, resulting in no settlement at all.

For health insurance, double dipping is when a single medical procedure is claimed twice, either through multiple insurance plans or through the same plan filed at separate times. In the second instance, the insurance company may cancel your coverage or require a payback of the overpayment. In the first instance, both insurance companies may deny the claim on the grounds that you have another insurer and both cannot be eligible. In this situation, the person trying to double dip could actually end up paying for the costs out of pocket because neither insurance company will pay. At their discretion, the case can be turned over to prosecutors for further criminal investigation.