There are an estimated one million uninsured drivers on Britain’s roads and that is what is partly to blame for the spiralling costs of motor insurance. You probably think that those people who are driving without insurance should be punished, but did you know that you could be driving uninsured and not even know it? There are reasons that would mean that, when it comes to the crunch, your car insurance won’t pay out. Here are ten of the surprising ways in which you could be invalidating your motor vehicle insurance.
1. You’ve upgraded your car
If you don’t notify your insurer when you upgrade your car, you could well find that your car insurance is invalid. This doesn’t only apply to the obvious things, like increasing the engine size of your vehicle, it could also apply to something as simple as fitting alloy wheels.
2. Allowing your dog to run loose inside the vehicle
If you allow your dog to romp around inside your car then, quite obviously it could distract you from your driving. If you have an accident then your dog could get the blame and you wouldn’t get any money from your insurer.
3. Being in arrears on your instalment plan
You need to make sure that all your car insurance instalments are kept up to date because if you have one payment that is outstanding, it will invalidate your car insurance, even if you have kept up the payments since that one missed payment.
4. Allowing your MOT to expire
If you forgot to take your car in for an MOT, then that could mean that you are no longer insured. Insurers will view a lack of a valid MOT as being an indication that the vehicle is not roadworthy and that will contravene the terms of your motor vehicle policy.
5. Using your car for business
You have to check the small print on some policies as to what is classed as business use and what is not. On some motor polices, your insurance will not cover you for using your own car to drive to a one-off business meeting. Some insurance policies don’t even cover you for your daily commute.
6. Leaving your keys inside the car
Are you one of those people who leave the keys in the ignition of your car sometimes? Even if you leave your vehicle unattended with the keys in it for just a minute you will be uninsured. If you need to pop back indoors because you forgot something, take your car keys with you.
7. Car sharing
If you are taking friends to work in your car and they pay you for it, be careful that your insurance company does not take that as being an indication that you are running a taxi service. If you start to make any money at all out of car sharing, you could be invalidating your motor insurance.
8. Not abiding by road signs
If you ignore road signs that tell you a road is closed, or is not suitable for motor vehicles, then don’t ignore the signs. Even if the road looks OK to you, if you have an accident, you won’t be covered by your insurance if there was a sign that told you not to go there.
9. Starting a new job
Be careful if you get a promotion at work or if you change your job. Different professions are assumed to have different levels of risk so, what your job title says, could affect your insurance premiums. You need to advise your insurance company when you change your job, or they may not pay out when you need them to.
10. Not disclosing the driving history of a named driver
If you add a named driver to your car insurance policy, then you need to disclose details of any accidents that they have had in the past. Failure to tell your insurance company about the history of a named driver could mean that you are not insured to drive your car.
