Job title change could save cash on your car insurance | Personal Finance | Finance
Motorists across the UK could make substantial savings on their car insurance with a simple change of job title. The issue has been raised on the Martin Lewis-founded website MoneySavingExpert.
MSE user Chris tried it and told the site: “Saved £100 by working in ‘software’ not ‘computer games’!” However, be aware – it’s crucial to understand that only legal and legitimate changes to your job title can potentially qualify you for cheaper car insurance. For instance, if you’re a primary school teacher but alter your job title to chef, you’re committing fraud.
This could result in your insurance policy being cancelled and your name added to the central fraud database, effectively ruining your chances of securing favourable insurance in the future.
It can sometimes be challenging to condense your work role into a few brief words, meaning you might inadvertently inform your insurer that you hold a job title that could hike up your insurance. Many insurers also ask about the industry you work in, which can often have more than one description.
Insurers do this because your job can frequently influence how you drive and who your likely passengers are. Insurers also keep records of claimants’ past occupations, enabling them to assess which jobs carry more risk and are more likely to result in an insurance claim.
Therefore, insurers favour jobs that are less risky or sporadic, such as a civil servant. Conversely, they tend to avoid high-risk jobs that often lead to more claims, including Premier League Footballers.
Martin Lewis said in a message on his MoneySavingExpert website: ” When considering whether you can use a different title, alway imagine you were asking a reasonable person who knew what you do for a living. Would they say it was reasonable for you to describe yourself this way?”
According to Marsh Finance, the top five cheapest jobs for car insurance are:
- Mechanic.
- Administrator or Civil Servant.
- Designer.
- Design Engineer.
5. Account Executive.
When selecting a quote, consider adjusting your job title slightly, within reason, to see if it impacts your insurance. For instance, if you’re a journalist, you could alternatively state that you’re a writer, a copywriter, an editor, or a content manager.
However, it’s crucial that the description you provide to your car insurer accurately represents what you do on a typical work day.
MoneySavingExpert stresses that your title needs to accurately describe what your job role is. The website has a guide on the issue.
