Letter to Toyota Corporation
Television commercials encourage fraud
December 7, 2007
To: Toyota North America
I wish to express deep concern about Toyota’s television advertising campaign, “Something strange happens to people at this time of year.” We fear it sends the wrong signal to Americans and unwittingly encourages people to commit insurance fraud.
I speak on behalf of the consumer organizations, insurance companies, and government officials who form the national membership of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.
A common and costly insurance crime is called the “owner give-up.” In one frequent version, owners deliberately destroy their vehicle so they can obtain a new one. They make the wreck appear to be an accident so insurance money will pay for the upgrade. When that happens, the cost to insure a car rises for everyone — including Toyota owners.
Toyota’s ads encourage this crime by showing amusing and memorable scenes of people wrecking their vehicles to obtain a newer model. The unspoken but clear message is that insurance will pay for the replacement.
We realize Toyota doesn’t intend to encourage criminal activity. But trivializing owner give-ups on national television helps teach millions of Americans that committing fraud is an easy, acceptable and even enjoyable way to move up in the world. One ad even portrays insurance schemes as a fun activity for the whole family.
The issue goes beyond owner give-ups. A disturbing percentage of Americans tolerate insurance fraud in general. People’s tolerance for fraud has grown over the last 10 years, and our studies suggest that your encouragement will have an effect on a certain slice of the adult population.
But far from being a harmless television prank, insurance fraud imposes unacceptably high costs on Americans. Insurance schemes steal tens of billions of dollars a year, and raise premiums for honest consumers throughout the nation.
Toyota has earned a reputation as a widely admired company that produces some of the world's finest automobiles. But by fostering an environment that encourages Americans to defraud insurance companies — even if unintentionally — this advertising campaign can only undermine the higher corporate and societal values for which Toyota stands.
The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud urges you to abandon this campaign. We would like to meet with you as soon as possible to open a respectful and candid dialogue on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Dennis Jay
Executive Director
