New research shows almost 14 million Brits could unintentionally be invalidating their insurance policies.
If you are one of the 13.71million Brits who admit to not being wholly honest when they apply for insurance there is a chance that you could be left wanting when you need to make a claim.
New research published by Sainsbury’s bank found that when applying for insurance 12.59million Brits often take a ‘best guess’ when providing details they are unsure of, while an astounding 1.12million of us knowingly give false information on our insurance application forms.
According to the bank, 19% of us feel that we simply don’t have enough time to research the detailed information requested on important insurance documents, while 4% of us purposefully embellish the truth to drive down the cost of our policy.
However, while taking a best guess on your insurance application form or even providing false information may seem like a strategy that will save you time and potentially money, you could end up paying heavily when you need to make a claim.
Insurance companies are vigilant creatures who aren’t keen on giving away money unnecessarily, so, if you provide false information when you take out cover, regardless of whether this was purposeful or not, there is a risk that they will invalidate your policy and refuse to pay out when you most need it.
As the whole point of insurance cover is to protect yourself financially against the unforeseen it really does pay to avoid any embellishment and fully research the information you provide your insurers with. This is the only way to ensure that you’re not simply pouring money down the drain when you pay your premiums.
Head of Insurance at Sainsbury’s Finance, Steve Johnson commented: "It really is quite concerning that so many people seem to think it doesn’t matter if they take a guess at the information requested at the point of taking out cover. Although it may seem like a good idea in an effort to save time, it could become a real headache later when they find they have invalidated their claim."
He continued: "If unsure of the answer to a question when getting a quote or buying cover we would encourage people to always take the time to go back and check any details, you can always phone back or gather all your personal documents together and apply online, in some cases you can retrieve online quotes and modify them later."
Sainsbury’s bank found that home insurance was the biggest culprit with 18% of us detailing potentially inaccurate information when we apply, with 15% of Brits admitting to estimating details on their car insurance policy. 12% admit to guessing information on travel insurance forms, while 4% do the same when obtaining quotes for pet insurance protection.
