No lie is ‘little’ or ‘half’. Little or big / half or full, a lie remains a lie. That’s the black and white view on this subject, but the world is rarely black and white and half truths do have their place in our society and are seen to be a useful mechanism in order to maintain a sense of harmony between members of a modern day society, serving a useful function in negating conflict and minimising tension.
There are the stalwarts who believe that the truth must always be told regardless of the situation. The reality is that all over the world many people are telling half-truths with no adverse affects. In fact it is estimated that between 10% and 15% of adults purposely manipulate the truth to some extent.
Here’s a question to chew over – Your partner wants to know if you think that they need Botox treatment for the copious amount of wrinkles that have miraculously appeared on their face overnight – if you’re smart your answer will most likely be ‘no’ – regardless if it is the truth or not. Clearly you would rather live with the consequences of that ‘half truth’ as opposed to the ‘fall out’ from telling the truth. Here’s another one – You’re late to work and your boss wants to know why – if you value your job you will probably steer clear of the truth that you actually slept in because you were up late partying the night before. Instead you might offer up the ‘appalling traffic’ as your reason for arriving late at work. Happens all the time doesn’t it?
What are the downsides of manipulating the truth when it comes to insurance? – The failure to fully disclose the information requested of you can eventuate in your policy being withdrawn or your claim being declined outright.
Modern television programs have been alerting us to the fact that insurance companies are comming down hard on any manipulation of the truth. A decision to offer you an insurance contract is often based solely on the information you state in your insurance application form.
When a Life Insurance company is exposed to claims in the millions of dollars it is important that they can make fully informed decisions. Clients who ‘forget’ to disclose relevant information or simply thought that it was irrelevant, effectively undermine the ability for an insurance company to make an accurate assessment. The outcome may well be that your policy is withdrawn.
Is manipulating the truth harmful? – In relation to Insurance the answer is emphatically ‘Yes’, so be very careful when completing an insurance contract and make doubly sure that you tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
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