How to unlock the Saints Row insurance fraud minigame

Saints Row Insurance Fraud Ragdoll injury minigame
(Image credit: Deep Silver Volition)

The iconic Saints Row insurance fraud and injury minigame has returned, so it's time to fling yourself into passing traffic and ragdoll your way to a series of impressive injuries. However, this Saints Row minigame isn't available from the start of the game, as you first need to unlock it as part of the Shady Oak venture within the business side quests, so there's a bit of work to do before you can get into it. With that in mind, I'm here to guide you through the process for how to unlock the insurance minigame in Saints Row, and also explain how to get really good at throwing yourself in front of cars.

How to unlock the Saints Row insurance fraud and injury minigame

(Image: © Deep Silver Volition)

To unlock the Saints Row injury insurance fraud minigame, players need to take the following steps:

1. Progress through the story to the point where you unlock the venture and business table

2. Buy the Shady Oaks business (if it's the first venture you buy it'll be free, otherwise it'll cost you $30000)

3. Head to the business location and talk to Tamira Bowens. She'll place a location for Insurance Fraud. Head there to start it.

4. Once that example is completed, it'll unlock more locations for the minigame all over the map. Head to any of them and interact with the marked street sign to begin.

The insurance minigame is tied to the progress of the Shady Oaks venture - completing all of them, as well as the area threats, will upgrade the venture and increase its payout nicely, so it's definitely worth doing!

How to beat the Saints Row insurance fraud minigames

(Image: © Deep Silver Volition)

The actual gameplay of the insurance fraud minigame in Saints Row is based around injuring yourself with ragdoll physics. Once the challenge begins, pressing R2/RT will cause your character to limply throw themselves forwards. Use this new "power" to hit moving cars, and try to use them to launch yourself as far and as fast as possible. Better scores are awarded by building combos - being hit by multiple vehicles in quick succession - and using those hits to send yourself as far as possible. Hit the target score in the time permitted, and you'll win, earning money and a chunk of Saints Row XP.

With all that in mind, here's a few quick pointers:

  • Look for the fastest cars to hit you, and jump just before hitting R2/RT so you're thrown upwards and get more air. 
  • Stay close to intersections and crossroads; you want to be as close to traffic as possible.
  • Once adrenaline is unlocked (see below), use that time to try and bounce on cars like trampolines, launching yourself up off them and leapfrogging from car to car for the most efficient method. 
  • All the Saints Row weapons are locked off - you can't use RPGs or anything to launch yourself around.

Saints Row insurance fraud adrenaline explained

Saints Row Insurance Fraud Ragdoll injury minigame

(Image credit: Deep Silver Volition)

Finally, there's adrenaline to consider. This yellow bar is built up during insurance fraud and builds every time you take damage, proportionate to how hard you were hit. When it fills up, you enter a short time of Adrenaline Mode, the chance for the best score possible. When Adrenaline Mode is active, here's what happens:

  • Cars that touch the player explode, launching them incredibly far and doing more damage
  • The player gains far more distance when struck in general, with more control over how they fall and steering themselves in the air.
  • This is your chance for massive scores - bounce off as many cars as possible, trying to bounce directly up and landing on their roofs for the best results.

Don't worry about all those car fenders squashing your face - though if you do want to customise yourself, check out how to change your appearance in Saints Row. Or if you want to hit friends with cars, check out the limitations of Saints Row crossplay here.

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Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.