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A FIELD EXPERIMENT ON INSURANCE FRAUD IN AUTO BODY REPAIR *
Author(s) -
TRACY PAUL E.,
FOX JAMES ALAN
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1989.tb01047.x
Subject(s) - insurance fraud , automobile insurance , business , sample (material) , actuarial science , insurance policy , chromatography , chemistry
This article focuses on a particular form of white‐collar crime–insurance fraud in auto body repair. Through the use of an experimental design, whether repair estimates were related to insurance coverage was investigated for a statewide representative sample of auto body repair shops in Massachusetts. The auto body repair estimates were significantly higher with insurance coverage than without, regardless of type of car, extent of damage, sex of driver, and location of shop. The implication of the findings is that the automobile insurance industry is very susceptible to fraudulent or illegal practices that take unfair advantage of consumers and insurance companies.