By Steven Symes 
A woman in Pennsylvania is facing serious charges, including a third-degree felony, for allegedly buying insurance immediately after getting in a car crash. This is the sort of thing we hear people joke about doing, knowing full well it’s not only ridiculous but is illegal and a horrible idea.
Majority feel car insurance rates are unfairly calculated: survey.
Yet authorities claim 30-year-old Savannah Laurel May Stinedurf did just that on January 3, 2025 at 1:27 pm. The woman got into a crash with her 2017 Ford Escape, claiming it happened at 1:50 pm, so 23 minutes after she luckily purchased coverage from Progressive Insurance.
Investigators thought that was mighty fortuitous, even suspiciously so, and they started to dig. Progressive contacted Stinedurf’s mother, who said her daughter took photos of the crash damage right after the collision, reports WFMJ.
Once investigators obtained those images, they read the metadata attached to the files, which indicated they were taken at 1:20 pm. In other words, the photos of the crash showed the woman allegedly lied about when it happened.
Investigators claim when they confronted Stinedurf with the information, she broke down and admitted to buying the insurance policy after the crash. She apparently was driving without any insurance, so she got the plan to pay for the other vehicle’s damages.
For that, Stinedurf has been charged with false/fraudulent/incomplete insurance claim, a third-degree felony, and criminal attempt – theft by deception, a first-degree misdemeanor. She’s been arraigned and had to bail out of jail, with the prospect of facing a serious criminal court trial.
In other words, while people joke about this sort of thing, you shouldn’t do it. Ever.
We get that insurance rates are sky high and seem unfair these days, a feeling most people apparently harbor, but that doesn’t make engaging in fraud acceptable. Also, driving without insurance is a bad idea since you never know when you’ll get into a crash. It’s best to carry at least minimal coverage.
Image via Progressive Insurance/Facebook