ACCENTURE SURVEY TARGETS INSURANCE FRAUD:

The majority of Americans say insurance fraud occurs because people believe they can get away with it, according to results of a survey released today by Accenture. The survey, based on a random sample of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, is Accenture’s second annual survey examining consumer attitudes toward insurance fraud; results of the first survey were released in February 2003. In this year’s survey, 56 percent of respondents said they believe insurance fraud occurs because people believe they can get away with it, up from 49 percent in last year’s survey. Nearly one-third (32 percent) said they believe that people who commit insurance fraud do so because they believe they pay too much for insurance, and 24 percent said people commit insurance fraud to make up for their deductibles. In addition, nearly one-half (45 percent) of the respondents who knew someone who submitted a claim for an amount higher than their actual loss said that a third party was involved.