2.5 million motorists 'driving with invalid policies'
More than 2.5 million motorists in Britain are driving with invalid insurance policies, according to new research.A survey says that ten per cent of UK drivers are potentially invalidating their policies by lying to insurance providers.Price comparison website uSwitch, which conducted today's research, says that a further six per cent of car-owners are driving on British roads with no insurance whatsoever.Of the 2,500 people uSwitch quizzed, three out of four admitted they were aware that lying about details such as the age of the main driver and where their cars were parked could invalidate their policies.When the survey results are applied to the country as a whole more than 750,000 drivers are failing to declare road-related convictions such as drink-driving or speeding.According to uSwitch if all of the drivers were compelled to pay out their potentially invalid policies the cost would total more than £4.15 billion.The website's head of insurance Aron Thompson says it is "no great surprise" motorists were withholding information in order to secure cheaper cover."To the consumer, this may seem like a little white lie to save money. In reality, it could end up teaching the driver a costly lesson, on average £1,636, as the provider is under no obligation to settle a claim based on a policy which is inaccurate," he warned."However, our research has also shown that it is not always an intentional ploy to save money as many people simply do not understand the questions asked or the implications of their answers during the application process."
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