Top mistakes people make that invalidates their insurance

There are many scenarios where despite you being open with your insurer when you buy a policy, could unwittingly find yourself accidently uninsured even though you think you have a valid insurance policy. We have collected a list of common mistakes people make that you can watch out for.

Failing to update your insurer

For example, you recently purchased a home insurance policy for your property and you declared that you had a certain lock and further on down the line, you changed the lock to something less secure and you did not update your insurer, this could potentially invalidate your insurance. On the flip side, if you changed your lock to something more secure then you could receive a reduction in your policy.

Inaccurate description of door locks

Following on from our previous point, telling an insurer the incorrect ‘technical’ name for a door lock can also invalidate your insurance and could cause you problems in the future when trying to make claims.

Leaving an unused car uninsured

In 2011 there was a change in law where all registered vehicles,even those parked permanently on the driveway, must be insured at all times.  If you leave your car in the garage and forget about it (along with any warning letters sent to you) then you could receive a £100 penalty, your vehicle being clamped, seized and disposed of and a court prosecution carrying a maximum £1,000 fine. The way to avoid this is to notify the DVLA that the car is being kept off-road with a Statutory Off-Road Notice (SORN) or insure the car.

Driving someone else’s car

Never assume your policy covers the minimum third party cover needed for driving another person’s car with the owner’s permission. Some insurers do offer this protection but it’s best to check, many motorists have been caught out by this in the past.

Failing to tell your insurer about building work

When you have an exciting home improvement project in the works, having a chat with your insurer probably won’t be on the top of your list. But keep in mind that you’re playing around with the asset they’re protecting and if something happens, there’s a good chance your insurer will refuse the claim if you don’t tell them about it.

Using your vehicle for work purposes

If your vehicles is only covered for ‘social, domestic and pleasure’ purposes then you are not covered for work purposes. Most insurers have an option to include business use in your policy at an extra cost.

Driving abroad

Once you have bought car insurance and you plan on making a trip outside of the UK, check with your insurer to make sure driving abroad is covered. An estimated 10 million people plan to drive their cars abroad this summer. But one in three drivers don’t know whether or not they’re covered for driving on holiday and two thirds just assume they are.