Driving mistake ‘stays on record hitting insurance for rest of life’ | Personal Finance | Finance

Making one key mistake – especially when young – will tarnish your record and make insurance premiums rise for the rest of your life with ‘no time limit’ an expert has said. The issue is around having a policy cancelled by an insurer.

Sky Money reported that a mum had got in touch after her son had an issue soon after passing his driving test. She said: “When my son passed his driving test several years ago, he fitted a black box to his car to reduce his premium. Being young and silly, he exceeded the speed limit, which the box obviously detected. He was immediately informed his insurance was cancelled and he had to find an alternative company.

“The problem is this offence never goes away. When he looks to take out any form of insurance, he gets asked the question “have you ever had insurance cancelled, declined or refused?”. He answers yes, and the choice of companies is narrowed, and the price is always a lot higher than if he had said no. The comparison websites never allow you to explain what exactly happened. I too was recently asked “has anyone in your household ever been refused insurance”. I accept he should have been punished for his misdemeanour, but surely not for the rest of his life (or mine).

“Do you think after a set amount of time he could deny it was cancelled?”

Unfortunately she was told by an expert at Which? consumer group that insurers will check if a person has had a policy cancelled and anyone should always disclose it if asked.

Dean Sobers, car insurance expert at Which? said: “If you untruthfully answer a question – or agree with an inaccurate assumption – when applying for insurance, you risk invalidating the policy.

“This means that if an insurer asks if you or someone living with you has ‘ever’ had a policy cancelled by an insurer, you need to say if this happened – even if it was 20 years ago.

“The yes/no format of the question – without allowing room for context – is one of the more unfair quirks of insurance. You can usually stop declaring the motor offence itself after about five years – but the consequent policy cancellation often needs to be admitted to indefinitely.”

Experts said most comparison sites and insurers ask about cancelled policies when a person tries get a quote or try to arrange cover. They said some insurers will ask about a specific period, such as the past five years, while others ask if it has ever happened so it’s important to read the question carefully.

Kara Gammell, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “It’s worth noting that some insurers only ask about your history over a set period, so in certain situations it may not always need to be disclosed – but this depends entirely on how the question is worded, so it’s important to answer exactly what’s being asked.

“Unfortunately, a cancelled policy doesn’t simply ‘fall off’ your record. In many cases, it can remain there permanently, making it harder and often more expensive to find cover in the future, which is why your son may be seeing fewer insurers willing to quote or higher premiums.”

Mr Sobers added: “There aren’t general rules dictating a time period after which a past issue becomes irrelevant. Insurers take different stances.”

The experts said whatever else people should not lie about it. In the worst case people you could face fines, prosecution or a criminal record if they are found guilty of fraud.

If this were to happen, Sky Money reported the person would have their name added to the Insurance Fraud Register, which is an industry-wide database used by insurers to make underwriting decisions and assess claims.

Currently there are 21,241 people listed on the register. Being listed on there could affect all your future insurance applications, not just your car insurance. It may also affect your credit rating.