Would you lie to get cheaper car insurance?
By Stephen Jones
Would you ever lie to get cheaper car insurance? Well, according to our research, a third of Brits have done so in the past – meaning that a worrying amount of people may be behind the wheel with invalid policies.
Our survey of 2,000 drivers discovered that 62 per cent could boast a clear conscience, having never given false details to cut the cost of their cover. But as many as one in seven (14 per cent) admitted to lying about their annual mileage, while 8 per cent said they had fibbed about using a garage to cut their premium.
Interestingly, we recently discovered that parking your car in a garage might actually increase the cost of car insurance in some instances. As a result, some customers might even find that lying actually costs them more.
Battle of the sexes
Women are often called the fairer sex, and that certainly appears to hold true when it comes to car insurance. More than two-thirds of women polled in our survey said that they had never lied to get cheaper motor insurance, compared to just over half (54 per cent) of the men we asked.
Meanwhile, drivers in East Anglia were found most likely to be economical with the truth – with 43 per cent having lied at least once to cut the cost of cover. People in Northern Ireland, though, can hold their heads high – our study found them to be the most virtuous, with 71 per cent claiming never to have lied when buying car insurance.
What impact can lying have?
Lying on your car insurance is fraud, and as a result can lead to some serious consequences for anyone caught. Not only could you face a hefty fine, but your insurer may refuse to pay out and you might even face a prison sentence.
Even if you don’t face criminal charges or have your policy cancelled, lying could it make it harder and far more expensive to get insurance in the future. British insurers share information about customers on a national database, meaning that should you have been caught there could well be a black mark against your name in future.
How to cut the cost with a clean conscience
Car insurance is getting more expensive, which means it’s increasingly important to do what you can to cut the cost of cover. Here are some top tips to do just that:
- Get discounts on your premium by taking extra safety precautions such as fitting an alarm and immobiliser.
- Choose a car with a smaller engine, as bigger and faster vehicles cost more to insure.
- Avoid vehicles with any modifications from the standard manufacture.
- Make savings by reducing your mileage or by only driving at certain hours of the day.
- Take the Pass Plus qualification to benefit from a reduction of up to a third on your premium.
- Consider lowering the price you pay by opting for a higher excess - but be sure you can still afford this amount in the event of a claim.
- Compare car insurance with Confused.com – between January and June 2010, 10 per cent of car insurance customers that gave a best alternative price saved over £188.85 by using our website.