Survey uncovers sympathy for fraudsters

NEARLY A QUARTER of U.S. adults say it's acceptable to defraud insurance companies, according to a recent study. In fact, more than one in 10 survey participants approve of submitting insurance claims for items not lost or damaged or for treatments not provided, and 11 percent know someone who has

The study, which included telephone interviews with more than 1,000 U.S. adults, was commissioned by Accenture - a management and technology consulting firm - and conducted by market analysts Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch to examine attitudes toward insurance fraud. Researchers learned that 83 percent of those surveyed believe insurance companies are capable of identifying or preventing fraud-related property and casualty insurance claims.

Almost half of survey participants say people commit insurance fraud because they can get away with it. Moreover, two thirds of respondents speculate that insurance fraud is more likely to occur during an economic downturn than when the economy is strong.