# What Happens if I Fib to the Health Insurance Police? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 18, 2002, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-fib-to-the-health-insurance-police/143666 "2002-12-18T22:14:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-fib-to-the-health-insurance-police/143666/21 "2002-12-19T18:08:33Z")
It is neither immoral nor unethical to lie to insurance companies. Their entire existance is predicated on lying to the public about the actual risk, taking exhorbitant premiums, then doing what ever is necessary to construe the terms of the policy against the interest of the covered, so that they pay out as little as possible. I take every opportunity to screw insurance companies, because I know that they are committed to doing the same thing to me. All’s fair in love and insurance. > [@](#): > > **Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.** _–Mark Twain_ ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-fib-to-the-health-insurance-police/143666/22 "2002-12-19T20:46:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \* > \*\*It is neither immoral nor unethical to lie to insurance companies. Their entire existance is predicated on lying to the public about the actual risk, taking exhorbitant premiums, then doing what ever is necessary to construe the terms of the policy against the interest of the covered, so that they pay out as little as possible. I take every opportunity to screw insurance companies, because I know that they are committed to doing the same thing to me. All’s fair in love and insurance. \*\* And the thread veers screaming into GD territory… Please be aware that you are not speaking for anyone other than yourself. There are those of us who believe that lying is both immoral and unethical, and in some circumstances it’s even illegal. Having worked for two different insurance companies I can tell you that our motivation was not “screwing customers” but taking a scarce resource (health care dollars) and using them in the wisest way possible to provide the highest level of coverage available. It is a fact that smoking leads to a number of health conditions which are either absent or rare in non-smokers. It is a fact that the more claims which are paid, the fewer dollars there are to pay for the next claim. It is a fact that smokers who get sick with a “smoker’s disease” will file more claims than non-smokers who don’t get sick. It seems completely reasonable for insurance carriers to expect that smokers pay a higher premium in anticipation of the far greater likelihood that they will be afflicted with one or more of these smoking-related ills. And before anyone comes charging back with “you say that but your insurance companies were only in it for the money” let me point out that one of them was a not-for-profit corporation and the other was (honest) owned by nuns. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-fib-to-the-health-insurance-police/143666/23 "2002-12-19T21:30:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Otto \* > \*\*Having worked for two different insurance companies I can tell you that our motivation was not “screwing customers” but taking a scarce resource (health care dollars) and using them in the wisest way possible to provide the highest level of coverage available. \*\* Gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case. ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-fib-to-the-health-insurance-police/143666/24 "2002-12-19T22:21:12Z")
**Fear Itself,** do you have health insurance? ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-fib-to-the-health-insurance-police/143666/25 "2002-12-19T22:30:05Z")
BTW, unethical or immoral issues aside, it is illegal to provide fraudulent information to a health insurer. Period, End of Story. That is an irrefutable truth, written in the fine print of any contract you enter into with them. ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-fib-to-the-health-insurance-police/143666/26 "2002-12-19T22:51:30Z")
Has it been definitely ascertained that smokers are more costly to insure than non-smokers? It would seem that medical costs rise geometrically with age and smokers don’t live as long. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-fib-to-the-health-insurance-police/143666.md?page=1)