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Motorists failing to address an issue on their car insurance related to accidents could leave them without valid cover. Drivers must declare to their insurer if they have an accident or
crash of any scale or size. If the owner of the car is found to be trying to hide minor accidents from their policy provider then they could be risking invalidating their car insurance.
Insurers could cancel your premium and it could actually result in you having higher premiums in the future. The cost of repairing a vehicle after an accident may be cheaper than reporting
it and using the insurance excess. While it may cost less, drivers are required to inform their insurer of problems regardless of size. A poll of UK drivers found that almost two thirds (58
per cent) were willing to take a risk with their insurance and would not inform the insurer of an accident if the repair costs were less than the excess. The research by LexisNexis Risk
Solutions claims that just one fifth (21 per cent) of people would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ report a minor incident. Shockingly, only a third would report an accident involving another
vehicle. Surprisingly it found that younger drivers are more honest and likely to fess up to a fault. Almost half (42 per cent) stated that they would inform their insurer of a minor
accident compared to just 15 per cent of motorists over 45 years old. Another group unlikely to let their insurer know about an accident were those who hadn't made a claim ever or in
the past five years. The reason for this was over a fear that they could lose their no-claims discount. However, while drivers are required to declare the damage to the insurer, they aren’t
obliged to make a claim through and can pay for the damage themselves. Martyn Mathews, Senior Director of Motor Insurance, U.K. and Ireland, at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said, “Honesty is
always the best policy. Drivers risk their policy being cancelled and any claims refused if they are found to be less than truthful with their insurer. Not only does this leave them at risk
of funding their own repairs in the event of damage to the vehicle, but it could also make it difficult for them to obtain insurance from any other provider in future. “Younger drivers tend
to pay the highest premiums because they are proven to be the riskiest so it’s easy to see why this age group are more likely to stretch the truth than older drivers. Our research does
suggest an urgent need for much more awareness and education of the risks of supplying inaccurate information to their insurance provider. “In most cases, drivers providing false information
do so without realising the potential consequences. As an industry, we need to do more to help consumers understand the value of cover and the importance of providing full and accurate
information to their insurance provider.”