Factors That Influence Willingness to Commit Insurance Fraud

Brenda J. Cude and Hanchun Zhang

Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2025, vol. 59, issue 2

Abstract: Insurance fraud increases premiums for all U.S. households and undermines the insurer/insured relationship. This article examines willingness to commit insurance fraud using data from an online survey completed by 1505 U.S. adults and analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. Roughly one‐half of the sample would never commit any of the nine types of insurance fraud in the survey. Fewer than 20% (17.2%) of the respondents said they had committed at least one of the types of fraud. Both of the moral intensity variables were significant, but the signs were opposite. Moral Intensity PC1 (Magnitude of Consequences, Probability of Effect, Temporal Immediacy, and Concentration of Effect) was negatively related to willingness to commit insurance fraud, while Moral Intensity PC2 (Social Consensus and Proximity) was positively related. Peer acceptance was significantly and positively related to willingness to commit insurance fraud, while the relationship with the belief that insurance fraud is a crime was negative. Several control variables were significant, including age; older respondents were significantly less likely to be willing to commit insurance fraud than younger respondents. The article concludes by discussing future directions for research and practical implications for consumer educators.

Date: 2025
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