Car Insurance Buyers Guide:
Honesty now essential
We have reported elsewhere on this site on how willing many people are
to lie when filling in car insurance
application forms, their aim, of course, being to misrepresent their
true risk to a car insurance provider so as to secure a lower car
insurance premium to that which they are legitimately (or legally,
fraud being illegal) entitled.
In a large study of this, 20%
of young drivers admitted to lying on their car insurance applications.
Much of this fraud related to 'fronting' whereby a parent posed as the
primary driver on their behalf.
While many may think that fronting is hard for an insurer to prove, if
they find evidence of it, before or after a claim, your car insurance
is rendered invalid. The Insurance
Fraud Bureau (IFB) and insurance companies are checking closely on
the possibility of fronting in relation to every policy where an under
25 is listed as a second driver to an over-25 year old primary driver.
In particular, the IFB knows if that primary driver is also the primary
driver for another car, regardless of whether the two cars are insured
with the same or different car insurance companies. Being a primary
driver of two cars is suggestive of fronting where an under-25 is
listed on one of the policies and the IFB will alert your insurer if it
finds evidence like this of fronting. Indeed, at the time of writing,
they have recently warned car insurance providers of over 17,000
drivers where fronting was likely.
This major clampdown carries the risk (if you are fronting) that your
car insurance could be declared invalid if you needed to claim. It
therefore makes it a high risk strategy to pursue while also exposing
you to the risk of a criminal prosecution for fraud.
Many people withhold details from their car insurance application forms
including past claims or points on their license. Both of these are no
longer viable as insurance companies in 2011 will start to check on
both of these for themselves. Admittedly, they will need your
permission (via a tick box on your form) to check with the DVLA as to
whether you have points on your license, but if you withold this
consent, they will know that you have lied and will reject your
application.
As regards the checking of past claims, insurance companies will start
to check the IFB database to see if you have past claims, so
non-dsclosure would be self-defeating as it would blacklist you as
dishonest.
While it can cost more to be honest, it is quite right that insurance
companies are clamping down on this fraud that pushes up the cost of
cover for others.
The message is clear. You need to tell the truth when you apply for
your car insurance.
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