Insurance companies know definitively that unethical business practices are ultimately unprofitable. "The whole insurance business is based on averages," says Peter Kensicki, a Professor of Insurance at Eastern Kentucky University, who grapples with ethical quandaries in his quarterly column for National Underwriter.

"In the short run, there may be a competitive advantage in doing something immoral or unethical, but sooner or later, businesses that are not operating ethically are going to get in trouble."

"We believe in integrity, in ethics, as a foundation to building our business," agrees Paul Romano, the president of OneBeacon Professional Insurance. "How we select and bring our products to the market are choices we get to make, and we don't believe these issues are negotiable." Doing the right thing, Romano insists, is the only way both organizations and individuals can build trust, whether in the marketplace or in their personal lives. Moreover, Romano says, it pays to do the right thing.