Counteracting dishonesty strategies: A field experiment in life insurance underwriting

Abstract Individuals often face financial incentives that challenge their desire to behave honestly. Strategically making excuses justify dishonesty allows them give in the temptation of benefit and retain moral self‐image. In context insurance underwriting, stakes are high, as providing false information or redacting customers reduce premiums. This is particularly true for smoking disclosures carry great weight life insurance. We conduct a field study with large company aim neutralizing justification strategies individuals deploy reducing costs dishonest insurers. First, we raise awareness negative consequences could have on other policy holders counteract attenuate ignore such adverse consequences. Second, make salient pro‐social efforts insurer work against potentially perception industry may feed excuse companies being deserving harm. The presents evidence messages containing about social one's actions behavior second party can influence normative behavior, honesty.