Motorists are being informed that a car accident could see their premium costs increase, even if it isn’t their fault.
While this may have been known already, the difference in how much the driver at fault and not at fault is fairly shocking.
New research has found that millions of drivers face hikes to their car insurance premiums after making a claim due to an accident that wasn’t their fault.
Victims of non-fault accidents see an average price hike of 26 per cent in premium costs on renewal – or £102 per driver.
This is not much less than at-fault drivers, who make claims, who see an increase by an average of £136.
Worryingly, almost a quarter (24 per cent) of drivers are unaware that these accidents (such as a being driven into by another vehicle) need to be declared to their insurance provider – failure to do so could leave millions of drivers at risk of invalidating their policy.
Despite this, more than 13 per cent of drivers haven’t declared to an insurer that they have had an accident which wasn’t their fault.
Reasons for this are so the motorist can preserve their no claims discount and are concerned about adding a claim to their premium.
Motorists are being warned, however, that not disclosing an accident to your accident could result in future claims being rejected and seeing policies invalidated.
In extreme cases, insurers may refuse to offer cover or charge a higher than normal premium, reveals uSwitch.
There are no calls for insurers to provide fairies pricing for motorists that have been involved in an accident but aren’t at fault.
Sabrina Webb, insurance expert at uSwitch.com, says: “Our research shows that non-fault claimants are being forced to pay a premium for someone else’s careless driving when they renew their insurance policy.
“The fact that you pay only marginally less than someone who has caused an accident if you are the innocent party is just plain wrong.
“What’s worse is that many drivers feel forced to not tell the truth when they come to renew their insurance policy, and are likely storing up problems and expense further down the line.
“The fact that drivers feel like they have to hide potential claims from their insurer in order to keep down spiralling insurance costs highlights the flaws with the current pricing model.
“The insurance industry needs to stop this unfair practice that does little more than penalise innocent motorists.
“Meanwhile, drivers can put themselves back in the front seat by shopping around for the right policy for their circumstances when their renewal letter arrives.”