Insurers complain ads from Toyota incite fraud

by Quenlin » Thu Dec 20, 2007 03:22 am
Posts: 192
Joined: 13 Dec 2007

State and national insurance officials say a Toyota Motor Corp. ad campaign is encouraging viewers to commit fraud.

The amusing ads suggest that drivers eager to buy a new Toyota should dump their old car by pushing it off the roof of a parking garage, dropping a steel beam on it, or chopping down a tree so it falls on the vehicle. In one ad, a family works together to roll a boulder off a cliff onto their car.

Total Comments: 5

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 03:28 am Post Subject:

They can think what they like, but how often does someone push a car off the roof of a parking lot? Saying that it incites fraud is taking it a bit far. It's meant to be satire, and that's all it is.

"So yeah, I pushed my car off a parking garage roof, dropped a steel beam on it and chopped down a tree causing it to crush the roof, and got my family to finish it off with a boulder. Can I claim insurance on it? What did you just call me!?"

Encourages fraud, maybe in people who don't know how insurance works.

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 08:56 am Post Subject:

Honestly, when did the world lose its sense of humor?! To actually accuse Toyoto of inciting insurance fraud with that ad is a little too far fetched in the believability stakes for my liking.

Perhaps you need to be an insurance professional to get where they're coming from but as a plain old consumer, it seems over the top to me.

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 10:10 pm Post Subject:

I'm not entirely sure its helping to incite fraud as giving more options to people that wouldn't normally think of it. But it is meant to be humorous and entertaining. Its like the movies, does the violence in the movies really cause violence outside of it, or the driving really fast on city streets racing for money in the movies encourage people? It is all a moral question and kind of a which came first the chicken or the egg since I believe if a person is going to commit fraud they have already decided in their head, sure your environment influences people. But if just seeing something on tv would get everyone to do it, we would all be driving electric vehicles recharged from environmentally sound power generating facilities, recycling every gram of recyclable materials. So I guess my answer is yes it can cause fraud but only in those already predetermined to do fraud.

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 08:59 pm Post Subject:

I would like to think that most people would see this commercial as the humorous thing it was supposed to be. I think Toyota should have added a disclaimer just in case, but I don't think anyone can honestly use this commercial as an excuse for any fraudulent behavior.

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:44 pm Post Subject:

In that case I'm going to come out with a commercial that encourages people to send me their life savings! I mean, as long as there are people who are going to listen to commercials and mindlessly follow their message.

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