A new study looking at the habits of van drivers found that nearly a quarter lie about various things on their van insurance application form.
I must admit, I’m shocked to find out that so many van drivers would actively lie when applying for van insurance, it was always my opinion that most, if not all, were an honest bunch who wanted to tell the truth.
Well, I suppose that approximately 75% do tell the truth, or they just didn’t admit to lying when asked about it in the study, but I would like to think that most van drivers are honest and tell the truth…especially when using a comparison website.
Let’s say that you fill in the form on this website, which should take you no more than about 3 minutes.
It’s very important that you tell the truth and nothing but the truth, because when we send off your details to around 40 van insurance companies they really need to know the facts about your situation so they are able to give you an accurate quote.
Do you know why you should always be completely honest when filling in any kind of van insurance form? Quite simply, because if you withhold details or bend the truth slightly, then when it comes take to make a claim you might not be able to.
That’s right, when you lie there is a risk you could invalidate your policy completely, to the point where your van insurance is not even worth the paper it is printed on.
You end up losing out twice, because you are essentially paying for a policy that isn’t even active and then if you need to make a claim for damage to your van or something like that you won’t get a penny.
Not only that, but most van drivers are not aware that it’s against the law to lie on your insurance application. Don’t believe me? Then you should refer to the Road Traffic Act, van insurance section, where it quite clearly states that it is an offence to withhold information when applying to an insurer for cover.
According to the study one of the main areas where van drivers bend the truth is about penalty points on their license. Most of the time they “forget” to mention they have 3 or 6 points in the hope that they will get a cheaper quote.
As you are no doubt aware, insurers look at your complete driving profile when coming up with a quote and if you have points on your license then it does typically make it a bit more expensive.
It seems that nearly a quarter of van drivers think they are being clever by lying about penalty points, because they do get a cheaper quote initially, but of course, if they need to make a claim then any insurer will look more closely at the details provided, and if it doesn’t match up then forget about any kind of payout.
The message here is clear if you ask me. Don’t lie on your van insurance application. Just tell the truth, even if it means you pay a bit extra.