Have you lied to your insurer?

[Maldax]

An interesting read

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/17072007/389/lied-insurer.html

[WoolyCiv]

And after talking to my broker the truth, can in practice change the amount payable by only a very small percentage, or in my case it does. I cleared out the garage and correctly stated that the civic is now garaged every night result was a reduction of less than a tenner on a premium of around £320. When I asked what would make the largest reduction was told to move house to another post code.

[TTDegs]

or get older

[richierich]

After reading that I am amazed to hear that you need to tell the insurer you drive to work in it, how else do they expect you to do 12,000 miles per year?

Might mention it to the Wife though!

[Kremmen]

Yep - work is a seperate class to SDP.

If you had a shunt at say 17:00(ish) and told them you were driving home from work and your policy was only Social, Domestic & Pleasure they they might refuse to pay up.

[spsducati]

And if you were stopped and only had SDP use when you were travelling to work you could get done by the police for driving without insurance - usually an IN10 conviction which gets a hefty loading in the insurance industry usually.

[Spud]

I thought most policies included travel to and from a place of work.

It was a different kettle of fish if you used your car for work activities - visiting clients etc then you had to declare this and pay a small addition on your premium.

[DeanFYoung]

Its also worth noting that the question "Is the car modified from the manufactorers standard specification?" includes manufacturer optional extras - i.e. leather, HFT etc. Everything must be declared.

[spsducati]

Originally Posted by Spud

I thought most policies included travel to and from a place of work.

It was a different kettle of fish if you used your car for work activities - visiting clients etc then you had to declare this and pay a small addition on your premium.

No the following categories apply:

1. Social Domestic and Pleasure (SDP) use only
2. SD&P plus Commuting
3. SDP and business use
4. SDP & Hire & Reward

You need to select the right level of use when discussing the insurance or buying online - if in any doubt disclose the information. better safe than sorry.

[nickb]

Also commuting usually only includes commuting to and from a permanent place of work so people that travel to various sites or are contracting at different companies read the policy details very carefully. I know a few people that have been caught out by this. It does not cost that much more to get business use especially if you shop around. The cheapest company for me last year is nearly £200 more expensive than my cheapest this time round. Crazy

[JohnnyC]

Originally Posted by DeanFYoung

Its also worth noting that the question "Is the car modified from the manufactorers standard specification?" includes manufacturer optional extras - i.e. leather, HFT etc. Everything must be declared.

Does that include different tyres from what it left the factory with?

The 'Kwik-Fit' exhaust system?

The £29.99 stereo bought from Argos?

The upgraded Philips headlight bulbs?

etc etc etc

[czechplastik]

Originally Posted by JohnnyC

Does that include different tyres from what it left the factory with?

The 'Kwik-Fit' exhaust system?

The £29.99 stereo bought from Argos?

The upgraded Philips headlight bulbs?

etc etc etc

My understanding is you only need to declare something if it;

a) Alters the power/how the car handles i.e remaps, bigger wheels etc

b) Significantly increases the value of the car i.e satnav, expensive stereos etc

[JohnnyC]

Originally Posted by czechplastik

My understanding is you only need to declare something if it;

a) Alters the power/how the car handles i.e remaps, bigger wheels etc

b) Significantly increases the value of the car i.e satnav, expensive stereos etc

So, how many people ring their insurer after purchasing a £199 TomTom kit from Halfords?

How many when getting insurance for their new car told them of *all* the things they chose from the options list (like SatNav)?

It's just silly, where do you draw the line?

[TTDegs]

unfortunately, you ought to draw the line at 'everything'

for example - the £199 Tom Tom means that your car is now more attractive to be broken into

The (ok, not kwik fit hopefully!) back street garage exhaust you had fitted - stands a potentially bigger risk of falling off, into the path of the car behind you

The non-OEM approved tyres / wheels - mean a potentially bigger risk of skidding / crashing into a ditch


The £19.99 Halfords special radio, means that there is a chance of an earth / power wire having been trapped when you fitted it, leading to a cabin full of smoke as your wiring melts (Yes, that was me, done this one! )

etc etc

Many of these will not affect your premium by much, if at all.
But if you have to claim, and the cause is a change that you haven't told them about...

[JohnnyC]

Originally Posted by TTDegs

The non-OEM approved tyres / wheels - mean a potentially bigger risk of skidding / crashing into a ditch

Actually, I've got different brand of tyres than my car had when it left the factory (I don't have a Honda Civic (yet!?!)), simply because they were so awful/dangerous in the wet.

I've also a £250 exhaust on, OEM was £360. So now if I'm rear ended and that needs replacing I've just saved my insurer over £100 - so why didn't I get a reduction in my premium for that?

Originally Posted by TTDegs

But if you have to claim, and the cause is a change that you haven't told them about...

So we're probably all driving around 'uninsured' then

[TTDegs]

Originally Posted by JohnnyC

Actually, I've got different brand of tyres than my car had when it left the factory (I don't have a Honda Civic (yet!?!)), simply because they were so awful/dangerous in the wet.

The good news is that there are several OEM brands

I've also a £250 exhaust on, OEM was £360. So now if I'm rear ended and that needs replacing I've just saved my insurer over £100 - so why didn't I get a reduction in my premium for that?

Unless of course you were rear ended due to the removal of the cat, leading to clouds of black smoke which obscured your brake lights

So we're probably all driving around 'uninsured' then

There are certainly a LOT of people out there who probably aren't quite as insured as they think they are


Chances are that a huge percentage of unisuredness (?) will never come to light.
If your car is nicked and never seen again, the make of the tyres is hardly going to become an issue.
But if you then put on the claim that you want an extra £3,000 for the full ICE upgrade which you fitted (but didn't tell them about)...

[i-CTDi]

Originally Posted by DeanFYoung

Its also worth noting that the question "Is the car modified from the manufactorers standard specification?" includes manufacturer optional extras - i.e. leather, HFT etc. Everything must be declared.

Curious. I just swopped my insurance to the new car and when he asked "Any modifications?" I specifically asked whether this included manufacturer's options and he said "No"..... Hmmm

[czechplastik]

Originally Posted by i-CTDi

Curious. I just swopped my insurance to the new car and when he asked "Any modifications?" I specifically asked whether this included manufacturer's options and he said "No"..... Hmmm

I wouldn't have thought it would affect things overly. It may be an extra but it's still a standard fit if you follow me.

[i-CTDi]

That was my thought, but I wanted to be sure. 'Modifications' to me are things like chipped ECUs & body kits, not something you drive away from the dealer with,

[Spud]

Originally Posted by i-CTDi

That was my thought, but I wanted to be sure. 'Modifications' to me are things like chipped ECUs & body kits, not something you drive away from the dealer with,

Thats exactly what my insurer said when I rang. I queried my alloys and parking sensors and she said no this dosn't impact on the insurance and then read off from the computer the mods they were interested in - chips, bull bars, exhaust systems etc....