Incorrect car insurance information – possible consequences

When taking out car insurance, drivers often have to put up with a lot of questions. Who drives the car? How old are the drivers? How many kilometers are covered in a year? When answering these questions, many find themselves in an inner conflict: On the one hand, the questions should be answered as accurately and truthfully as possible, on the other hand, discounts on car insurance can easily be achieved by providing incorrect information. Because the annual insurance premium to be paid is lower if the insurance company classifies the risk of an accident as “low”.

For example, if you do not state your 18-year-old son and novice driver as a co-user of the car to be insured, you can save up to 30 percent of the annual premium with some car insurance companies. Parking in a garage at night or driving less than 8,000 kilometers per year can easily lead to lower insurance premiums. But anyone who unknowingly or willfully provides false information when concluding the contract must expect serious consequences.

False statements will be punished with up to 1,000 euros

The North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center examined exactly what that means in a sample survey of ten insurance companies. All insurance companies agreed on one thing: All participating companies stated that they would retrospectively calculate the amount wrongly saved in the following insurance year. According to the consumer center, insurance companies also increase “the contractually agreed deductible” by EUR 500 if, for example, a driver who is not entered in the contract has caused an accident. You can expect an even higher penalty if you willfully gave false information when concluding the contract. If this is noticed, some insurance companies reserve the right to demand contractual penalties of up to 1,000 euros or to double the insurance premium in the following insurance year.

Control of customers through workshop invoice or accident report

Anyone who thinks that misrepresentations and “cheating” remain undetected in most cases anyway is wrong, according to the consumer advice center. Because when a customer reports damage, the information in the contract is checked first. From the accident report from the police, it is easy to deduce who the real driver was and where the accident happened. False information about the driver therefore makes little sense. The insurance companies also check the repair and workshop bills for the car in the event of damage – the mileage can thus be easily checked. Some car insurance companies also conduct random surveys of their customers.

Insurance protection remains in place despite everything

Despite knowingly or unknowingly providing false information, at least one thing is guaranteed with all the insurance companies surveyed: In the event of damage, the driver’s insurance cover remains in place, even if the customer “cheated” when concluding the contract. In this regard, the polluter does not have to fear any consequences; In such a case, however, the insured person is not protected against subsequent termination of the contract.