Motorists tell ‘white lies’ for cheaper cover

More than eight out of ten British drivers have lied to get cheaper car insurance, according to a national survey.

Martin Pitchford, said the lies could prove extremely costly as they could completely invalidate the cover.

“In a shocking survey, 83% of drivers said they had lied on an insurance application to keep the costs down, which is a staggering percentage.

“The most common lies were the purpose of the vehicle, the annual estimated mileage, and details of where the vehicle is kept overnight.

“Drivers also lied about vehicle modifications and previous insurance claims and accidents, all in order to save money.

“But invalidating your insurance can prove very expensive if you have to foot the bill if anything happens, and there are legal implications too, so saving on your cover will ultimately cost you more in the long-run.”

And Mr Pitchford said the lies didn’t stop there when it came to fraudulent insurance situations.

“It’s been revealed that eight per cent of fake car insurance claims are for injuries to ‘phantom’ passengers who were never in the vehicle in the first place.

“Drivers are making claims for personal injury to passengers who don’t exist, in the hope of securing a payout from insurers. But this is an extremely risky business, as anyone convicted of fraud risks a maximum prison sentence of ten years under the Fraud Act 2006.”

Mr Pitchford said the most common fraudulent claims involved low-speed impact accidents, where vehicles had collided and there was minimal or no damaged caused.

“Fraudulent claims often involve so-called ‘crash for cash’ accidents where one motorist deliberately causes a collision by slamming on their brakes and the innocent driver behind hits their vehicle.

“In the panic and confusion following the impact, it’s easy to see how the second driver might be unclear how many passengers were in the other vehicle, and so the fraudsters exaggerate the numbers to boost the claim.

“If you can, and if it’s safe to do so, take down the contact and insurance details from the other motorist, take photos of any damage, and contact details for any witnesses, so you can be sure that the claim is genuine when the paperwork comes through.”

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