A quarter of British motorists lie when applying for insurance

One in four British motorists (26 per cent) admit they've lied on an insurance application - meaning their cover could be worthless - according to new research from insurance.co.uk.

The research reveals a widespread habit amongst the nation at large for fabricating details in insurance applications in an effort to cut costs - with the catalogue of lies ranging from the seemingly innocent to the more severe. One in ten pretend their vehicle is parked in a more secure area than it actually is, while one in twenty are less than truthful about the distances they drive, the value of their car and the reasons they use it. A small, but worrying, percentage (1 per cent) are upfront about the fact they have lied about their address, penalty points, or other serious criminal convictions.

The study also provided an interesting insight into the nation's moral sensibilities. Despite the fact that so many admitted to lying, almost the entire nation (98 per cent) said they believed themselves to be honest individuals. When asked to rank the severity of various offences, almost half (44 per cent) put insurance fraud on a par with ‘pinching a chocolate bar' and ‘travelling without a valid ticket'.

Steve Grainger, Head of insurance.co.uk said "Lying to an insurer is often considered to be a ‘victimless crime', but this is far from the truth.

"Many motorists would never dream of illegally driving without insurance, but they seem to be blissfully unaware that entering inaccurate information on a motor insurance application could make their policy worthless, leaving themselves and those around them at considerable risk.

"Although it's natural to want to get the cheapest quote you can, this should never be done at the expense of cover. By using a comparison service such as ours, consumers can relax in the knowledge that they will be able to find a competitive quote, whatever their personal circumstances."

The research revealed that men are the most deceitful of the sexes. Whilst women are more likely to tell ‘white lies' to parents, partners and children, men are more likely to test their luck when speaking to their insurance company, the taxman or even the police.

Younger drivers (aged 16 - 24) are the worst offenders, with a third admitting to lying to their motor insurer. 1 in 5 (23 per cent) said they had lied about where they park their car overnight, 1 in 7 (15 per cent) over how much their car is worth, 1 in 8 (13 per cent) about how frequently they drive and 1 in 9 (11 per cent) about what they use their car for.

Topping the list of dishonest drivers are owners of ‘executive' and ‘hot hatchback' cars - particularly those coloured gold and white! Those living in Brighton and Birmingham rate themselves as being four times more dishonest than the average Brit.