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Have you ever
let your MOT lapse, insured your child’s car in your name or failed
to report a minor accident to your insurance company? If so, you
could be driving with invalidated insurance. It’s surprisingly easy
to invalidate your car insurance, but by avoiding the following
mistakes you should insure that both you and your car remain on the
right side of the law.
Misrepresentation
The most
common way of invalidating your car insurance is misrepresentation,
which means providing your insurer with false or misleading
information. For example, you might feel tempted to lower your
premiums by claiming that your car is kept in a garage when in fact
it is parked on the street. Although this may seem like a harmless
white lie, it could in fact land you in some serious legal trouble.
Other common means of misrepresentation include lying about the
number of years since you last made an insurance claim, providing
incorrect information about the make and model of your car, or
failing to disclose information that relates to the potential safety
of your or your vehicle.
Failing to
report an accident
Anxiety about
losing a ‘no claims’ discount can stop drivers from reporting
accidents to their insurance company. In fact, you have a duty to
report any incident that could result in a third party making a
claim – by doing so you are protecting yourself against loss by
passing the risk to your insurers. Although this is unlikely to
increase your premium, failing to report an incident can invalidate
your car insurance.
Fronting
With
insurance premiums so high for younger drivers, ‘fronting’ is
something of which many parents are guilty. In fact, it has been
estimated that more than two thirds of parents would consider
breaking the law by insuring their child’s car in their own name – a
practice which is technically fraudulent and can have serious
consequences. If you are caught ‘fronting’ then your insurer may
either cancel the policy or charge the correct premium as a lump
sum. They can also refuse to pay out for any claims, which can
result in the young driver being treated as uninsured and receiving
a ban from driving and a large fine. Both parent and child may also
find it harder and more expensive to find new car insurance in the
future.
Making
undisclosed changes to your car
Insurers can
charge higher premiums for modified cars, so keeping mum about any
changes is tempting. However, doing so can actually render your
insurance policy invalid. You should report any changes you make to
your vehicle, from fitting alloyed wheels and body kits to more
complex alterations which boost speed and performance.
Out of
date MOT
Driving
without a valid MOT will automatically invalidate your car
insurance. Any car more than three years old must hold an MOT
certificate, which will need to be renewed regularly. Failing to do
so will open you, the motorist, to a potential fine and prosecution.
To avoid the potential scrapes not having
car insurance can bring, look to online companies like Co
Operative for quotes and policies you can purchase whilst browsing
the internet. |
