Wow, that's crazy! Oh, wait, in Oakland, nevermind. :) But I think this is a red herring because the fraudsters wanted to sue you for damages like a fake neck

Wow, that's crazy! Oh, wait, in Oakland, nevermind. :) But I think this is a red herring because the fraudsters wanted to sue you for damages like a fake neck injury or something. So it's your liability insurance that would pay (or call them out on their fraud). And liability insurance is legally required (and is probably a good idea anyway, for theoretical reasons described in the article, as well as your anecdote). The article is just arguing against buying things collision insurance.