Car insurance small print can cost £500
Not reading the small print on car insurance policies can cost you £500 if you need to make a claim, new research reveals.
With the rise of online comparison services ever-more people are chasing a bargain and signing up to cheap car insurance online, but they could be storing up problems for themselves by doing so.
New data from Gocompare.com shows not properly reading the small print is costing Britons more than £130 million.
"It's certainly important to read the small print when purchasing goods, especially for something like insurance where an oversight can leave you in a very difficult and stressful situation should things go wrong," said Hayley Parsons, managing director at Gocompare.
"But it's also important for those selling goods to make the purchase information as clear as possible. Consumers shouldn't feel that things are purposely being hidden from them."
The majority of Britons (56 per cent) ignore small print when buying car insurance, electrical items, mobile phones, clothes from catalogues and other goods and services.
And this leaves 1.5 million people a year facing major problems, with one in five of them facing bills up to £500.
The biggest problem for people taking out car insurance without checking the small print was having no courtesy car when their vehicle broke down.
"People often find themselves under insured if they've bought a 'stripped down' policy without realising because the inclusions - and exclusions - weren't necessarily made apparent. It's only when they come to claim that the gaps in their cover are exposed," Ms Parsons said.
"More and more people are buying insurance online - in 2006 17 per cent of motor insurance was purchased via the internet- and it's essential for people to feel confident that they know what they're covered for."
Click here to compare car insurance
- Tags:
- car insurance ,
- news
Comments
Newsletter sign up