More than 500 calls have been made to a confidential telephone line inviting people to report fraudulent insurance claims.
Nearly two-thirds of the calls referred to motor claims, the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF)said yesterday.
The federation began the scheme three months ago to tackle the problem of fraudulent claims, which it says will cost the industry €100 million this year.
The level of public interest in the scheme, called Insurance Confidential, has made it a "resounding success", said the IIF's chief executive, Mr Martin Kemp.
Of the 546 calls received from members of the public to date, 62 per cent referred to motor claims, 23 per cent to non-motor personal injury (employer's and public liability), 8 per cent to property claims and 7 per cent to other types of claims.
One caller reported that an individual, having been injured as a result of his own carelessness, moved to another location, where he alleged that the incident had occurred due to the negligence of the property occupier.
Friends of the individual had agreed to act as witnesses in order to support the fraudulent claim, the caller reported.
Mr Kemp said the success of the scheme showed there was a desire among the public to expose fraudulent claimants.
"The Insurance Confidential telephone helpline has received reports of insurance frauds from people connected to the suspected fraudster in a number of ways, including relatives and friends, neighbours, customers, employers and ex-employers, employees and work colleagues."
The cost of fraudulent claims was a "significant cause of rising insurance premiums for personal and commercial policyholders alike".
Mr Kemp said the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, had said reporting insurance fraud was "a patriotic duty" when she launched the IIF's anti-fraud awareness campaign in February. This sentiment had been repeated by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, when he addressed guests at the IIF's annual lunch.
"In our view the myth that insurance fraud is a victimless crime and that no one pays the cost of dishonest or exaggerated insurance claims must be exposed for what it is - a fallacy, and one that costs honest policyholders millions of euro every week," said Mr Kemp.
The IIF has called for the criminal law on fraud to be simplified to assist gardaí to bring prosecutions against fraudulent claimants and those who collude with them. "Falsification of insurance claims should be equated with perjury, and made subject to the same penalties."