Applying Ethics to Insurance Scenarios
From principle to scenario
Scenario questions test whether you can apply principles under pressure. Read the stem for the facts that matter: what the CIP knows, what they are asked to do, who benefits, and whether a rule or policy is engaged. Ignore emotionally loaded details designed to pull you toward the sympathetic option.
Common scenario families
- Conflicted instruction: a manager asks you to delay a claim or soften a report. Correct response: clarify the concern, escalate through compliance or an appropriate channel, and document. Do not simply obey or simply refuse without escalation.
- Client pressure: a client asks you to omit a fact or backdate a document. Refuse, explain why, record the request, and consider whether the relationship should continue.
- Suspected fraud: do not confront or accuse; report through the proper channel and preserve confidentiality.
- Error discovered: disclose promptly, correct the record, and inform affected parties; concealment compounds the original error.
- Competence limits: a request outside your expertise calls for referral or supervised support, not confident improvisation.
Traps in questions
- Extreme options ("resign immediately", "report to the police yourself") are usually wrong where a proportionate internal step exists.
- "Do nothing" options are rarely correct when a duty to act is triggered.
- Sympathy overrides: hardship is relevant to how you communicate, not to whether you conceal a material fact.
- Order of steps: questions often ask what to do first; the first step is usually to clarify facts or escalate, not to decide the final outcome alone.
Rule of thumb
Use disclose, escalate, document: tell the right people, use the proper channel, and create a record. This sequence fits most scenarios.
Worked example
A CIP notices a colleague has altered a date on a claim form to meet a deadline. The professional response is to report the alteration through the appropriate internal channel and preserve the original record, not to correct it quietly or confront the colleague publicly.