Nearly a fifth of the 35 million British motorists have lied to their insurers to get cheaper deals despite knowing that it is illegal, a new survey has revealed.
According to the latest research by Kwik Fit Insurance Services, 18% of drivers in the UK have tweaked personal or vehicle information to score lower premiums when buying car insurance.
This means 6.9 million motorists have changed details about the factors used by insurers to asses risk such as annual mileage and vehicle value, the survey has found.
Younger drivers or those aged 25 to 34 are the most likely to have told “white lies” for insurance purposes, with one in seven admitting to tweaking their annual mileage.
The new report has found that motorists are still deceiving their insurers even if they are aware of insurance fraud.
Based on the survey findings, 92% of motorists know that giving false information to an insurance company is insurance fraud.
“Insurance fraud is a serious issue. But, although almost all drivers understand what it is, a significant proportion still give false information to their insurer,” said Stewart Barnett, head of marketing and ecommerce at Kwik Fit Insurance Services.
“To change this behaviour, we need, both as insurers and as a society, to stress the link between giving false information and high insurance premiums,” he added.
Barnett warned that motorists who lie to get cheaper deals may end up obtaining the wrong cover or have their claims rejected.
“We’ve all occasionally claimed ‘poetic licence’ with the truth and it usually turns out to be a harmless act,” Stewart Barnett, head of marketing and eCommerce at Kwik Fit Insurance Services, was quoted as saying in a Your Money report.
“But when it comes to insurance, small changes can make a big difference and, in some cases, inaccurate facts could invalidate claims and policies,” he added.
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