In a survey conducted by Zurich Insurance in July of 2014, the insurer found that around 20% (or one out of every five) Britons admit to lying to their insurance company – this is despite a whopping 82% knowing that wrong information registered on an insurance form can render the policy null and void. Zurich polled two thousand adults in the UK to understand why so many of us tell those white lies or “porkies”, particularly with the advent of internet driven applications.

More interesting facts that have arisen include:

10% of us will knowingly lie because we are scared of the consequences of being totally truthful, while just under a third (29.3%) of us lie as we are unsure of the correct information or didn’t understand the process to begin with – 8% even admitting to lying as they don’t take the process seriously.

Research also found 87% of people would not lie to an official body (e.g. police, accountant, council, mobile phone network) in order to save money, even though there is a real need to be frugal in the current climate.

A Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour at Goldsmiths University, Dr Patrick Fagan says: “People lie about all sorts of things – from their weight to their employment experience – but the ‘white’ lie is still the most prevalent. There is a feeling that the more irrelevant the lie, the less severe the consequences, but this just isn’t true. I think we’d all agree that a little frugality with the truth to avoid upsetting someone is fine, but it’s interesting to see that there are still a sizeable group of people who’d be dishonest in more serious and formal situations.”

The study also found:

1. 14% would lie to save money
2. British resolve still ensures the glass is half full, with a third (34%) admitting they’d happily lie to put a positive spin on a bad situation
3. A third of people (32%) are more comfortable lying on-line than over the phone
4. 1 in 5 Brits (19%) have knowingly given false information to their employer / potential employer
5. One in ten (11%) admit they lie about their weight – not such a surprise!!!

It would be interesting to break down the level of “porkies” by class of insurance to see if there is a big difference. Would the need to get cheap minicab insurance or cheap taxi base liability insurance compel policyholders to lie more than someone looking for a, say, a cheap empty property insurance? Are there other influencing factors? There can also be distinctions drawn between lowering the wage roll and turnover figures to obtain cheap ground workers insurance as these figures are adjusted at the end of the year anyway and is not necessarily a blatant untruth as these figures are estimated.