1.1m Brits lie on insurance forms
Monday, 17 Mar 2008 13:28
Some 1.12 million people lie when taking out insurance, while a quarter of Brits admit to guessing over key information provided to insurers.
Sainsbury's Finance estimates 24 million general insurance policies have been taken out in the last five years with people guessing at facts or simply lying.
While most insurance companies will look at unintentional mistakes on applications with leniency, by not providing the whole truth people are at risk of having claims rejected.
Steve Johnson, head of insurance at Sainsbury's Finance, said: "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.
"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."
People are most likely to lie or guess when applying for home insurance – with 18 per cent admitting all the facts may not be there – despite homeowners facing the greatest financial burden should a policy be rejected.
Some 15 per cent are not completely honest over car insurance applications, while 12 per cent give false information on travel insurance forms.
The finding follow figures from UK fraud prevention service Cifas revealing a
24 per cent rise in people committing fraud when applying for financial products.