Estimated Annual Mileage - Car Insurance

[Al U]

It's that time of the year again. I searched for previous threads and didn't find a recent one and as I know legislation is currently being updated as well as insurer's T&C's I thought I would ask the question.

When I was younger I used to put low annual mileages on my policies to combat high premiums, on the understanding that the way the statement was worded on the quotation was "What is your estimated annual mileage". In the event that I was pulled up on it (although I never was) my get out would be that it was an estimation that I got wrong. I have never made a claim on my own insurance so not sure if people that have can share their experiences, whether they have been asked to provide MOT certificates etc.

Now i'm older and more sensible (or dubious) what I would like to know is, does the number you give the insurance company have to be very accurate and what are the implications if it isn't? I'm likely to do around 15000 miles per year and have put that on renewal quotes I have been getting and the price is considerably cheaper than last year so am happy to go with that but just curious what the consensus is. Perhaps someone in the know like LoonR1 can shed some light on this subject?

Edited by Al U on Monday 18th August 21:56

[Al U]

Thanks for the responses, the difference on my policy between saying the vehicle would do 5,000 miles or less compared to the 15,000 miles or less that it's more likely to do in reality was only £50 so for peace of mind I've gone down the truthful route. Just wanted to see if there was anyone that could share experience of going through what would be classed as a costly claim and run into problems because of mileage declaration issues on an estimated mileage policy.

[Al U]

LoonR1 said:

To paraphrase "I fancy paying less than I should if I was truthful on my application for insurance. Has anyone else lied on their proposal and if so did it hurt at claim time?"

No, more like "When I was younger I used to underestimate my estimated mileage on my proposal to get cheaper car insurance and it never caused me a problem as I never had to claim on my own policy or had to explain why my vehicle had done way more mileage than I had estimated on the proposal. Has anyone underestimated the estimated mileage on their insurance and been caught out?". You are quite confrontational aren't you? I've seen some of the stuff that you have written on other topics and that's why I mentioned you in my OP but looks like I've got you on one of your "I'll just be a bellend" days rather than one of your "I know a fair amount about this topic so I'll give a useful reply" days.

[Al U]

LoonR1 said:

Your post firstly admits to deliberate misrepresentation when younger and then states that you are considering doing this again, but want to check if anyone's been caught or suffered any pain from doing it. Taking the moral high ground is a bit rich here.

Oh and insults either implied or explicit aren't going to change what you have written around your intended action.

Not totally correct. My first post does not say that I am considering it again, what I actually said was that even with the correct mileage estimation my quote is considerably lower than last year (£300 lower in fact) and that I am happy to go with that. I said I wanted to see what the general consensus is, and the thread has proved the consensus is rather varied.

Also I don't expect insults that I make whether implied or explicit to change what I have written or my intended action as I do not wish to take back anything I have written and my intentions are totally good as I have told the truth on my proposal. Even in the cases where I have underestimated my estimated mileage in the past an estimate is exactly what it says it is, it is an estimate approximation not an exact quantity. Insurance companies should set mileage limits on all policies to prevent this type of thing happening, the reason they probably don't is as other posters have said it's yet another avenue for them to investigate as a get out clause in the event of a claim.

[Al U]

Nightmare said:

this is one of my favourite ever insurance threads. It starts with the OP admitting previous dishonesty and musing about more and then HIM getting upset when someone who works in the industry thinks this might be a bit off and says so?! wow!!

And if Loon stops contributing then every one of these threads will just continue to get filled up with inaccurate drivel. which would be a shame as people are currently getting accurate information, which they happen to disagree with. gotta love the internet.

I'm glad that my thread has made it into your highly coveted favourite insurance thread list. I didn't get upset at all, I openly admitted to being previously dishonest. What I found slightly annoying was being accused of being dishonest on this occassion when I clearly said in my OP that having not told any porkies when getting my quote that I had got a price much cheaper than last year. It was the process of having to calculate my annual mileage when filling out the quote that made me think about starting the thread, I wanted to see if other people did and/or would admit to doing it and if anyone had dropped themselves in it by doing so when trying to make a claim on their own policy. You are entitled to interpret it however you like but that's how it is, simples!

Edited by Al U on Wednesday 20th August 20:07