Consumer attitudes

Consumer tolerance of insurance fraud has increased in recent years, public-opinion polls reveal. Accenture’s 2010 consumer survey is the latest research to reinforce this finding:

• More than half (55 percent) of U.S. consumers say poor service from an insurance company is more likely to cause a person to defraud that insurer;

• More than three-quarters (76 percent) say they’re more likely commit insurance fraud during an economic downturn than during normal times (up from 66 percent in 2003);

• More than two-thirds of consumers (68 percent) say they believe insurance fraud happens because people believe they can get away with it (up from 49 percent in 2003);

• Some 72 percent of consumers believe insurance companies are capable of identifying fraud (down from 83 percent in 2003). (Accenture Ltd., 2010)