Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/52303 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
Preprints of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods No. 2010,24
Publisher: 
Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn
Abstract: 
Most insurance companies publish few data on the occurrence and detection of insurance fraud. This stands in contrast to the previous literature on costly state verification, which has shown that it is optimal to commit to an auditing strategy, as the credible announcement of thoroughly auditing claim reports might act as a powerful deterrent. We show that uncertainty about fraud detection can be an effective strategy to deter ambiguity-averse agents from reporting false insurance claims. If, in addition, the auditing costs of the insurers are heterogeneous, it can be optimal not to commit, because committing to a fraud-detection strategy eliminates the ambiguity. Thus, strategic ambiguity can be an equilibrium outcome in the market and competition does not force firms to provide the relevant information. This finding is also relevant in other auditing settings, like tax enforcement.
Subjects: 
Fraud
Commitment
Ambiguity
Costly State Verification
Audit
JEL: 
D8
K4
Additional Information: 
Revised Version October 2011
older Version: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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