Impounded Car Insurance UK look at some of the most common lies told on insurance applications and the consequences if you are caught.
The number of motorists lying on insurance applications seems to be at an all time high. According to the AA the average car insurance policy has already risen in price by around 5%.
With the price of car insurance steadily rising, many people are trying to cut their insurance costs by lying on their application.
Insurance companies are fighting back, though, and over 212,000 fraudulent applications were discovered in 2014. This means that there are roughly 4,000 fraudulent attempts every single week; a sharp increase of almost a fifth when compared to figures provided by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) from 2013.
An abundance of data is taken into affect by insurance firms when calculating premiums and some consumers are attempting to manipulate the information they provide in order to pay less for their cover.
Some of the most common lies that are being told to insurance firms include not declaring convictions, lying about who will be driving the vehicle, where the driver lives and where they keep their car overnight. All of these factors can drastically affect the amount that you are charged for your car insurance.
If your car insurance provider finds out that you have not been completely honest or have purposely provided false information, you could find that the repercussions cost you much more than you have gained. Insurance companies can and will void your policy, meaning that you could be prosecuted for driving without insurance. You may receive hefty fines and have your license endorsed with a driving conviction. If you are caught driving without a valid insurance policy it is likely that the police will seize your car on the spot and take it to a compound until you have arranged sufficient seized car insurance cover.
Mark Allen, fraud and financial crime manager at the ABI has said that “Insurers recognize that innocent mistakes and oversights happen.” He then warned that anyone who purposely lied to get cheaper car insurance is at risk of driving illegally.
We always recommend that you are completely honest with your car insurance provider as the consequences of lying to them far outweigh any potential savings you may make.
