For years, poor public relations have hindered insurers'fight against fraud, but that could be changing. Publicawareness programs, legislative proposals, and a string ofhigh-profile busts are not only challenging long-held misnomers butalso seem to be raising social consciousness. One need only look toa recent public opinion survey for some encouragement.

According to new findings from anonline Insurance Research Council (IRC) public opinion study, thenumber of Americans who believe it is acceptable to pad aninsurance claim is, in fact, dwindling. Twenty-four percent of IRCsurvey respondents believe it is okay to increase an insuranceclaim by a small amount to make up for deductibles they arerequired to pay, compared to 33 percent in a 2002 telephone survey.Additionally, 18 percent believe it is acceptable to increase aclaim to make up for premiums paid in previous years when they hadno claims, the lowest percentage since the question was first askedin a 1981 in-home survey.

Unfortunately, the younger respondents,especially males, were less inclined to view claims padding aswrong or at least distasteful enough to forego such a crime. Forexample, among males between the ages of 18 and 34, 23 percentthink it is acceptable to increase claims amounts to essentiallycompensate for premiums, compared to 5 percent of their older(male) counterparts, and just 8 percent of females aged 18-34.

The IRC study, Insurance Fraud: A Public View, 2013Edition, also found that 86 percent of Americans agree withthe statement “insurance fraud leads to higher rates for everyone,”while 10 percent agree that “insurance fraud doesn't hurt anyone.”

“The decline in the public acceptance of fraud is encouraging,”says Elizabeth Sprinkel, senior vice president of the IRC.“However, the fact remains that nearly one in four Americans aretolerant of claims padding behavior that has direct implicationsfor claims costs and the cost of insurance for consumers. Moreover,one in ten believe that insurance fraud doesn't hurt anyone,indicating the need for continued public education.”

Respondents demonstrated strong support for fraud-fightingefforts. Two-thirds (66 percent) approved of legislation to limitattorney and medical provider access to police accident reports forthe purposes of soliciting new clients or patients, a markedincrease from 2002. Eight in ten were willing to participate inclaims processes that could help insurers detect and prevent fraud,such as examinations under oath (85 percent) or independent medicalexams (80 percent). Eighty-two percent agreed that persons whocommit insurance fraud should be prosecuted to the fullest extentof the law, although the consequences favored for specific fraudactivities were generally less severe than in 2002.

The 2012 results are based on an online survey IRC conducted inJune 2012 among 2,005 adults across the country. Survey resultswere weighted by known demographic distributions to ensure that thefinal results were representative of the total U.S. adultpopulation.