Motorists could be at risk of having their car seized if they don’t report some changes in their circumstance to their insurance provider.
When you first agree and take out your insurance policy, you agree that the information you provided at the time was accurate.
However, as time goes on, your circumstances may change which will make the information you provided becoming outdated.
- I popped into Greggs for a sausage roll and saw the most brazen shoplifting ever
- Nuneaton’s maternity unit closed as ‘critical incident’ declared
Having outdated information on your insurance can result in it becoming invalid.
Moreover, in some cases, your provider could declare the policy ‘null and void’. This would mean that you would no longer be legally insured to drive and therefore, you could get into a lot of trouble if pulled over by police.
If you’re not insured to drive a vehicle, police could issue a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points.
You could also be at risk of being taken to court where you face a harsher punishment of an unlimited fine and could even be disqualified from driving.
Police also have the power to seize a vehicle if there is not an insured motorist driver. In some cases, police could decide to destroy a vehicle that’s been driven uninsured.
Changes that need to be reported
You could make your insurance valid by not reporting changes without even realising. Even if this is the case, it does not count as a valid excuse and you will still be committing the offence of driving without insurance.
Because of this, it’s important to report any of the following changes that could affect your insurance policy:
- You move house and have a new address
- A new person is driving your car
- Your car receive a new modification
- The place you usually park your car changes
- You change your name (including if you get married and your surname changes as a result)
- You get a new job
- You receive points on your licence
- If you were involved in an accident
Fees for making changes to your insurance policy
You can always make adjustments to your insurance policy if there are any changes, and might even see your premium fall – this is known as a ‘mid-term adjustment’.
For example, if you move to a new address that has less traffic and motor crime, insurers may drop the price of your policy.
When making a mid-term adjustment, it’s important to note that many major insurers may charge an administration fee.
However, many insurers may waive this fee in many cases, such as if you do it through an online account, so it’s always important to ask your insurer about this before deciding to make the change.
