Quarter of Young Drivers Lie for Lower Insurance

July 7, 2011 - PRLog -- A study by the UK’s leading discount website has looked into the attitudes of young drivers towards the insurance policies they hold for their vehicles. The poll found that many lie to their insurer in order to lower the cost of their annual policy or monthly outgoings.

The poll was conducted by www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk as part of ongoing research into the various personal finance aspects of Britons’ lives. 1,265 drivers aged between 17 and 21 in the UK were subsequently polled and were asked questions about their current car insurance policy.

The first question respondents were asked was ‘On you current car insurance policy, have you been dishonest in any areas to lower your premium?’ In response to this, 24% of the young drivers taking part said ‘yes’. These people were then asked to elaborate and explain what lie (or lies) they had told to get their policy price lowered.

The results, according to MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, were as follows:

1.   Have parent as ‘main driver’ (when they rarely drive vehicle) – 54%
2.   Keep car in garage – 41%
3.   Don’t declare modifications – 39%
4.   Keep car on drive, not in street – 22%
5.   Car has alarm/immobiliser – 19%

Respondents were asked if they were aware that their insurance policy could become invalid if they lied to lower their premium, to which 68% answered ‘no’.

Of those who said that one of their parents was the ‘main driver,’ despite the fact they rarely drove the vehicle, 37% said they told that particular lie in order to take advantage of their mum or dad’s no - claims discount.

When asked how much they saved by lying on their premium, if they knew, the average amount stated by respondents was approximately £40.

Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings:

“I would never recommend lying to an insurer to lower your premium, because it invalidates the policy and should you need to make a claim, you may find that you can’t. It’s a shame that people do this sort of thing to save money, because there are much better and more honest ways of getting money off.

He continued:

“Sites such as MyVoucherCodes can be a great way of getting your hands on good discounts and you may even be able to save a pound or two on insurance policies. It’s definitely worth checking out and beats lying!”

LINK http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk

ENDS

For more information, contact Shannon Haigh of 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on shannon@10yetis.co.uk or 01452 348211.

Editor’s Notes

Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 30, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

Mark appeared as a ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the series on Channel 4, in which he donated £115,000 of his own money to worthy causes.

MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year

Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.

MyVoucherCodes is the UK’s most popular discount site.