We’ve all heard the horror stories of people trying to claim on their motor insurance, only to have their claim refused due to a technicality, or some detail that has been forgotten. The higher your claim, the harder the insurer will work to find some reason not to pay out. Some of the steps you can take to avoid this issue are just a matter of diligence and common sense.



Always wear your seatbelt. If you are injured in an accident and it’s found out that you weren’t belted up, the insurer will throw out your claim straight away. You can also incur heavy fines if you are caught without your belt. Likewise if you are found to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident. As well as the legal ramifications, drink driving renders your insurance claim invalid as you could be seen to have caused the accident. The same goes for speeding and other types of dangerous driving. All will make you more of a liability on the road, and more likely to be in an accident.





Which leads onto our next point; admitting the blame. If you feel the accident was your fault, don’t automatically accept responsibility. Blame is for the insurers and the police to decide. It may seem like you’re trying to get away with it, but there may be factors you aren’t aware of; you may have crashed into that car, but its driver could have been distracted while on the phone, and not paying attention to the road. All this will be investigated and any extenuating circumstances taken into account.



Make sure your car is in a legal and fit condition to be on the road. Anything like your tyres being bald, your lights not working or a wing mirror missing could mean that your car isn’t roadworthy. Dont take the fact that you have a current MOT certificate to be proof of roadworthiness the certificate is only proof that the car was legal on the day of the test. Have your car checked over regularly, or do it yourself, to give you peace of mind that you are within the law. Police can now pull cars over at random and perform spot checks on any points like the oil level, water in the washers, even that your horn is working. If anything is found not to be to MOT standard, a subsequent claim could be rendered invalid.



Finally, make sure you fill out your application fully and honestly. If you omit details, either by accident or on purpose, and later they come to light during a claim investigation, your claim could be thrown out. This includes any changes to your car internal or external and any changes of personal details such as adding a married name, change of address, etc. Some will lower your premiums, such as getting married married couples are seen to be safer drivers others may raise it adding alloy wheels to you car sill raise its value and attraction to thieves. Even if you think a change is insignificant, mention it anyway to be sure.