I hope readers understand that this editorial could very well get me banished from my favorite sushi restaurant. Is there a worse thought to be had?

You see, my regular sushi stop is located near the Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America plant — a mere block from National Underwriter's headquarters — and is frequented by many of the company's brass. But really! Toyota's advertising has become a sore subject for insurers. Specifically, there are a few now-infamous commercials that have gotten a lot of negative press — and a lot of negative reaction from the insurance industry. And well it should.

With incidents of fraud more rampant than ever, the last thing the industry needs right now is for one of the major car manufacturers, especially one with such a stellar reputation for a superior product and savvy marketing, to stoop to this.

A woman cutting down a huge tree limb to destroy her Corolla and expecting the insurance company to handle it as a total loss? A gentleman engaging his family to help destroy their Highlander? What were they thinking?

Here's an excerpt from a letter from a member of our Editorial Advisory Board, Dave Rioux of Erie Insurance, who also is the current president of the International Association of Special Investigation Units:

Mr. Shige Hayakawa

President, Toyota North America

Recently, Toyota's “Something strange happens to people at this time of year” television advertising campaign has drawn attention from various news media.

As president of the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU), board member of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF), and vice president and manager of Corporate Security and Investigative Services for Erie Insurance, I strongly agree with the concerns that a number of my industry colleagues already have voiced.

While Toyota surely does not intend to encourage deliberate destruction of vehicles — with the unspoken implication that insurance will pay for a new one — this new series of commercials may inadvertently do so.

According to research, nearly 25 percent of Americans say it's okay to defraud insurers. Fraud is a costly problem that results in higher premiums. In fact, some industry experts estimate that about 10 percent of your auto insurance premium pays for the cost of fraud.

To avoid unintentionally bolstering the misconception that fraud is acceptable, we urge you to abandon this campaign.

Considering all the efforts IASIU, CAIF, and the insurance industry at large, we would all hope that Toyota will pull this campaign, although the damage is likely already done among insureds who took the idea and ran with it.

This situation could cause a serious breach in the advancement of anti-fraud initiatives across the board and hamper the efforts of the industry to combat this fraud cancer.

If I hear from Toyota, I'll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I'm sure going to miss my weekly sushi fix.

Special Reports /

What Was Toyota Thinking?

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