There is a multitude of ways you can invalidate your car insurance cover and new research has exposed one way millions of British motorists could be voiding their cover.
A new poll found that 58 per cent of motorist wouldn’t let their insurer know if they were involved in a minor car accident.
The reason that over half of drivers polled may not inform their insurer that they had a minor collision, bump or scrape is because the cost of repair was cheaper than their excess.
Drivers may be saving money repairing their car instead of paying the excess on their policy but they could lose their cover as a result.
Most insurers will state that you must inform them if you have an accident of any sort or cause any damage tot he car, regardless of the minority of it.
A study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that only 21 per cent of people would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ let their insurer know.
Perhaps surprisingly is that younger motorists were more likely to let an insurer know about an accident or damage.
Almost half (42 per cent) of 18-24 year olds would let their insurers know if they has an accident
Only 15 per cent of those over 45 would do the same.
It also found that motorists that had never made a claim or hadn’t made a claim for over five years would also be less likely to inform their insurer.
The reason for this could be because drivers don’t want to lose their no-claims bonus, which can lead to cheaper premium costs.
Drivers are also afraid of seeing their premium rise as a result of reporting it to their insurer.
Over half believe that it would lead to a more experience premium.
James Burton, product director of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, UK and Ireland, commented: “Consumers understandably feel nervous declaring information that could result in premium increases.
“This is a real concern as many motorists could be invalidating their policy, when instead they need to look at the bigger picture where factors such as the size of the claim, driving history, fault and policy details more often determine premium increases after claims.”