35% Think It's OK to Inflate Insurance Claims
Tuesday, June 6th, 2000 Auto Fraud PropertyA significant number of Americans surveyed—35 percent—believe that it all right to exaggerate insurance claims under certain circumstances, according to a recent Insurance Research Council (IRC) survey. These respondents agreed that it is acceptable to increase the amount of an insurance claim by a small amount to make up for a deductible. Nearly one in four respondents (24 percent) said that it is acceptable to increase the amount of a claim to make up for insurance premiums paid when no claims were made. The IRC has been tracking public tolerance for claims padding for many years. The 2000 results show fewer respondents accept this type of insurance fraud than did in 1997, when the acceptance level surged. However, the percentage of Americans surveyed believing that it is all right to exaggerate a claim to make up for the deductible is higher in 2000 than in any year before 1997.
