Being a safe driver extends further than your habits and ability to control your vehicle. It also includes the clothes you wear, the maintenance of your vehicle, and whether you have any distractions in the vehicle. Any one of these simple errors could see drivers risking invalidating their vehicular insurance.
Drivers who make these mistakes run the risk of joining thousands of other rejected claims, which totalled at £114 million.
According to research by Uswitch, 63% of motorists are making errors which could leave them seriously out of pocket.
Errors like putting off essential car maintenance, forgetting to renew your insurance and failing to lock your vehicle doors are all potentially costly mistakes to make.
In an additional troubling development, 25% of those asked were unaware that these seemingly small mistakes can lead to insurers refusing to pay out, whilst a third admitted that they had forgotten how some of these behaviours can negatively impact their insurance.
According to data collected by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), more than 43,000 car insurance claims are rejected every year.
Rod Jones, the insurance expert at uSwitch.com, says: “We know the British public are increasingly time poor, so it’s unsurprising that motorists can be forgetful when it comes to locking up their vehicles or renewing their MOT and taxes on time.
“With claims now running into the thousands of pounds, people can’t afford to make a careless mistake that could invalidate their cover and leave them out of pocket.
“It is therefore really important that drivers note down their key renewal dates, and avoid making the easy to forget mistakes to ensure they are covered by should they ever need to make a claim.”
Top 10 mistakes drivers make that may invalidate insurance
1. Wearing high heels or flip flops while driving – 25%
2. Leaving car unlocked – 24%
3. Putting off car maintenance when required – 21%
4. Forgetting to renew their car MOT on time – 16%
5. Letting pet(s) roam free in the car – 15%
6. Lent car to a friend or family member – 14%
7. Not updated details after changing jobs – 9%
8. Attached fluffy dice, or another object, to rear-view mirror – 9%
9. Forgotten to renew vehicle tax on time – 9%
10. Underestimated mileage travelled every day – 8%