What invalidates car insurance?

The car you drive

Car modifications: Some car owners like to make improvements to their vehicles. But it can invalidate your insurance if you don’t tell your insurance provider. Here are some examples of car modifications that could effect your car insurance price:

• Expensive radio/sound system: If expensive technology is visible through your car’s windows, it creates a greater amount of risk of your car being broken into.
• Engine & body work upgrades: If you upgrade your engine or body work, which can be expensive, this will make repairing your car expensive too.

You need to inform your insurance provider of these changes so that they can adjust your policy’s price to accommodate for them.

Your personal information

Occupation: Your job could affect the price of your insurance, as some occupations are considered riskier than others. So if you do change your job completely or even just get a promotion at your current job, you need to keep this information up to date with your insurance provider. This will reduce the risk of your insurance becoming invalid. 

Where you live: The area you live in and where you park your car during the day or night can also have an effect on your insurance price. Some areas of the UK have higher crime rates, which means your care is more likely to incur damage if you live in these areas. Keep this information updated with your insurance provider, so that you can make a claim without running into issues.

Note: Your home isn’t always “where you live”, some people have multiple properties or study away at a university. Your primary address is where you spend most of your time.

How you use your car

Primary driver: When you lie about who the primary driver is, it’s called fronting. Fronting refers to a fraudulent practice in car insurance where someone misrepresents the main driver of a vehicle to obtain a lower insurance premium.

Yearly mileage: The more you drive the more likely you are to experience some kind of car accident. So when you inform your insurance provider of your predicted annual mileage, be as accurate as possible.

What you use your car for: Insurance companies need to consider what you are using your care for. For example, some policyholders may be using their car for commuting, and others may only use their car for social outtings. But if you use your car for commercial use, like delivery driving, standard car insurance won’t cover that. You will need commercial car insurance.