Did you know, doing these could invalidate your car insurance?
Invalidating your car insurance means your insurer can cancel your policy and refuse to pay out if you make a claim. But as well as the immediate consequence of having your claim rejected, it can also make it harder to find the cheapest car insurance quotes in the future.
Here, the comparison site mustard.co.uk, reveals some surprising ways you could be invalidating your car insurance without even realising.
Eating or drinking while driving
Distractions like eating or drinking behind the wheel increase the chances of being involved in an accident. Should something happen and it transpires you were snacking or spilt a hot drink on your lap, your insurer could argue you weren’t paying attention to the road.
As well as rejecting your claim and cancelling your policy, you could be convicted of careless driving which could earn you at least three penalty points.
Not updating your insurer
A number of factors influence what you pay for insurance, including your age, address, job and of course, your car. With that in mind, it’s important to keep your insurer updated on anything that could affect this cost.
If you don’t, your premium won’t accurately reflect your risk profile and you might not be adequately covered. Not only that, failing to tell your insurer (intentionally or not) counts as non-disclosure, which is another reason why your policy can be cancelled.
Having the wrong class of use
Class of use is an insurance term that describes what you use your car for and affects the cost of your premium. Typically, you can choose from:
- Social, domestic, pleasure (SDP) which covers running household errands in your car, such as food shopping, school runs and visiting friends and family.
- Social, domestic, pleasure + commuting (SDP+C) includes standard SDP activities but will also cover you to drive to a single place of work, like an office.
- Business use covers you to drive to multiple workplaces, for instance, if you have lots of satellite offices dotted around the country.
Having the wrong class of use means you don’t have appropriate cover for the risks you face. For example, using your car for business carries far greater risks compared to SDP policies, as business drivers are likely to cover significantly more miles.
Underestimating your annual mileage
The more miles you cover, the greater the risk of being involved in an accident and the more you can expect to pay for insurance. It’s why insurers always ask you to estimate your annual mileage. Your estimate isn’t expected to be accurate down to the last mile but it is expected to be reasonably accurate.
If you think you might exceed your estimate by some distance, just let your insurer know and they’ll be able to amend your policy. There may be a small administration fee to do this but it’s cheaper than the possibility of invalidating your policy and having it cancelled.
Fronting
Fronting is when a more experienced person says they’re the main driver instead of someone younger or less experienced in order to get cheaper insurance. It often happens with parents and children who have just passed their driving test. This is because statistics show that under 25s are more likely to be involved in an accident. As a result, young driver insurance costs considerably more than average.
It’s important to know that fronting is actually considered insurance fraud and it can lead to a criminal conviction.
Young drivers can help lower premiums by adding parents as named drivers – just don’t say mum or dad is the main driver when they aren’t.
Inappropriate footwear
Needless to say, if you get behind the wheel of a car, you’re expected to be in full control at all times. Unsuitable footwear can stop this from happening, making it harder to feel or control your car’s foot pedals.
Inappropriate footwear usually includes wearing no shoes at all or wearing shoes that have very high heels or thick soles. Flip-flops are also considered unsuitable.
Leaving your pet unsecured
If your pet is a regular passenger, it should be properly restrained – this is also something clearly set out in the Highway Code. Suitable restraints include dog cages or specially designed pet seat belts.
Remember – securing your pet isn’t just about sticking to the Highway Code and insurance rules, it’s about keeping you and your pet safe too. If you do have an accident, an unrestrained animal, especially a large dog can cause huge amounts of damage and can leave your pet seriously injured or worse.