Telling the truth about your insurance will avoid unwanted extra costs

Not telling the truth about your insurance claims or when applying for a premium can amount to fraud if important information is not disclosed.

Recent figures suggest that there has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of car insurance claims being refused by insurers over the last six months.

Companies are laying the law down and refusing to pay out where they believe they have been misinformed. There are a number of fabrications that people might be tempted to tell their insurers, but this should be avoided.

Claiming to the insurer that you are main driver of a vehicle when you are not, is known as ‘fronting’ and is particularly tempting for parents of young drivers. This is because the cost of naming their son or daughter as the main driver is likely to push the premium price up considerably.

The insurer can deem the policy invalid if ‘fronting’ is discovered and in the event of an accident, this could see the owner of the fronted car left with no compensation for damage to their vehicle and may face a bill for repairs to any other cars involved.

People who have a history of past driving offences will typically see higher insurance premiums, but not admitting to having past wrongdoings will probably see your policy declared void if the insurer discovers the dishonesty.

A general rule is to tell your insurer if you have had a conviction for a driving offence in the last five years, even if the insurance company do not ask directly.

If you have been found guilty of a driving offence, the insurer is likely to view you as a high risk customer and the premium will reflect this by being much higher than someone with no conviction.

Telling your insurer that you have never made a claim is also deemed as a fraudulent act. If you have been in an accident or made an insurance claim within the past three years this should be disclosed, this rule applies even when an accident was not your fault.

This is because your history is taken into account when the insurer calculates whether you are a high risk customer and also to help set your policy price.

It is worth remembering that once having an insurance policy voided; this must be declared to any future insurer. This can result in being faced with continuously high premiums or being refused cover altogether.