In general little white lies have their place in our civilisation and are an effective means of maintaining a sense of harmony and function within today’s ever-changing world. They also serve a useful purpose in circumventing conflict and minimising tensions.
The goody-two-shoes would disagree wholeheartedly and would argue loudly that the truth should in no way be compromised, regardless of the outcome. In reality many cultures are based around this notion. An undeniable fact is that a huge number of individuals around the globe will tell half-truths in less than the time it takes you to finish reading this commentary, with very few consequences.
Consider this – Your partner asks you if her/his friend is better looking than they are – your answer will probably be a resounding ‘no’ (on the assumption that you want to continue with your current relationship) and it doesn’t really matter to you if that was the truth or not. Why do we manipulate the truth? In a nutshell we are schooled from our infant years with diametrically opposed views about telling lies. From 3-4 years onwards society encourages us to think that the truth is always better than a lie, when in fact the actual rewards for telling lies could far outweigh the consequences.
So are there any downsides for telling white lies – Indeed there are, and many of us are discovering that not telling the truth to your insurance company will almost certainly come back to bite you. If you do not accurately and honestly disclose all the relevant information asked of you then the likelihood of your claim being declined and/or your policy being cancelled without any refund will dramatically increase.
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.
If you purposely don’t disclose information or you conveniently decide that it is irrelevant, then you have undermined the ability for an insurance company to compose an accurate contract. The outcome of this may be that your contract is cancelled, or your claim may be declined. Either way it’s not pretty.
Are white lies harmful? – In relation to Insurance the answer is undoubtedly ‘Yes’. Be very diligent and honest when applying for Insurance and ensure that you tell the truth.
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