Number of motorists lying on car insurance applications to save money hits critical level

Data has revealed that a quarter of young people are now resorting to lying on their car insurance application to help save them money.

Lying on a car insurance application is known as non-disclosure and if caught out, it could see drivers prosecuted.

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Connor Campbell, car insurance expert at Independent Advisor, explained that incorrect details on a car insurance application to cut down on costs “might seem like a quick way to save cash”, but it can carry serious consequences.

If a driver is involved in an incident and needs to make a claim, incorrect details could do more damage than good.

Providing false information could have the claim rejected outright, have the policy terminated or refuse to cover you.

In more serious cases drivers could see themselves slapped with unlimited fines and further prosecution.

Campbell added: “You also run these risks if you fail to update your insurer during your term.

“Any additional drivers, changes to address, occupation, vehicle modifications or uses for your car that your provider doesn’t know about could be a problem later on.”

Motor insurance fraud makes up most of the cases, with the Association of British Insurers finding that 43,000 UK drivers are prosecuted each year.

Once a driver makes a claim, an insurance company will work to process the validity and value of the incident.

Insurers may take witness statements, survey the relevant area and perform an inspection to see whether the driver was at fault or not.

They will also collect physical evidence and gather documents like police accident reports, photos and video recordings and interview the driver about the claim.

Due to the high number of motor fraud cases, insurers will go through any number of steps when assessing a claim and “put it under any scrutiny they see necessary,” Campbell warned.

Between April 2022 and March 2023, the UK saw a rise of 61 per cent in car insurance fraud.

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If your insurer finds out that a false claim is bogus, drivers could risk having their policy terminated and jeopardise them getting covered elsewhere.

“You may also end up with a criminal record. As well as coming with an unlimited fine, you can end up with a 6-month or longer prison sentence for committing insurance fraud,” Campbell detailed.