car insurance

[dylan1959]

is it illegal to have a different address on your driving licence and insurance eg insurance is cheaper down south than north - the persons home is north the address is a relative in devon -what are the penalties tia

[bednobs]

Are you saying hte person is insuring their car as if they live in Devon, when they actually live in Manchester (or similar?) If so it's insurance fraud and there are legal consequesnces, not the least of them being if they need to make a claim, their insurance willbe invalidated

[gingejbee]

Well, wouldn't you be giving the insurance company false information? If so, the insurance would be invalid.

[bednobs]

plus insurance fraud can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison

[johnny37]

Technically fraud. Lying about your address is not the only scam in car insurance. Another good one is lying about past accidents or claims. It may keep you premium down but you might find yourself uninsured if is noticed.

[bednobs]

it's not "technically" fraud - it IS fraud!

[johnny37]

Yes, I realised that as soon as I had posted. btw, I heard some time ago that insurance companies are sharing information, though i've yet to hear of anyone whose been caught out.

[Buenchico]

As other as have indicated, it's an offence under Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006:
http://www.legislatio...pga/2006/35/section/2

As has also been stated, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment (plus an unlimited fine):
http://www.legislatio...pga/2006/35/section/1

Further, insurance companies share information and place a lifetime bar upon anyone who been convicted of an offence of fraud (or attempted fraud) against an insurer from obtaining any type of insurance. (So that effectively means a lifetime of not driving and going without insurance on their homes and possessions).

Further still, all UK High Street banks refuse accounts to anyone who has ever been convicted of fraud, and the likelihood of such a person obtaining credit is also extremely slim.

Chris

[MartinBev58]

My wife passed away when I lived in London and I had a new car on order at the time.
As there was nobody else at my property I thought it would be good if the car was registered at my fathers address and for the address on my driving licence to be his address.
I did explain what I was wanting to do to the insurance company and they said that was OK but they would charge the premium in accordance with my London address which was higher than what it would have been at my fathers address.
I checked with the police as well and they said it was OK as long as I could be traced through my fathers address.
The only small problem was my insurance renewal / motor tax renewal notice went to my fathers address but this was not a problem to us as I saw my father on a regular basis and I knew my renewal dates anyway.

Dylan

The difference between my and your situation is you would be having different addresses on your insurance and licence to lower your premum where as mine were different because I wanted my relatives to be informed quickly in the event of an accident. I was however paying the correct premium for where the car was mainly used.

Martin

[EDDIE51]

The address on your driving licence has to be the address you actually live at, not a relatives address. I think you are at risk of getting in trouble here even if done for a good reason. I would very strongly suggest you change details to where you really do live , even if you have to change it again later.
Insurance companies will try to find a way out of paying if they can no matter what they say to try to get your business . I still think you are at risk of committing fraud even if unintentionally.

[bednobs]

it's not unintentional eddie! they are altering material facts and doing it to get cheaper insurance = fraud

[twix123]

Most insurers also ask for the address where the vehicle is regularly kept overnight, therefore if you use an address in Devon instead of Manchester you would be omitting a material fact, which would also void your insurance.