According to recent figures, there could be thousands of motorists driving illegally in the UK, as they attempted to cut corners on car insurance and consequently may not be covered.
The figures, provided by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), show that in 2014, more than 212,000 dishonest car insurance applications were submitted, which represented an 18 per cent rise on the previous year.
Some of the most frequent dishonest actions taken were ‘forgetting’ to provide information about unspent convictions or previous claims, or even entering the wrong address in an attempt to fool insurers into thinking the applicant lived in a lower-risk area.
Another practice identified was ‘fronting’, which is when a parent insures a vehicle under their name, despite their child being the main driver.
Other scams were discovered, such as ‘ghost broking’, which is where an illegal insurance adviser sells a fake policy, and results in motorists falsely believing they have car insurance in place. Should there be a crash, and they are found to not have valid car insurance, their car could be seized and the driver prosecuted.
“Insurers recognise that innocent mistakes and oversights happen. But anyone lying to get cheaper motor insurance, or tempted by cheap insurance offers without first checking that they are genuine, risks driving illegally,” said Mark Allen, of the ABI.
“The consequences include getting a criminal record and a massive financial headache if found to be at fault for a crash. The risks are just not worth it, especially when you can shop around for the right policy at the lowest price,” he continued.