What do I have to tell my car insurer during the policy year?

A motor policy is a snapshot of a set of facts, priced on the day you answered the questions. Insurers ask you to keep that snapshot accurate for a year, and most people hear that as a formality. It is not: the two most common mid-term changes in Britain — moving house and changing job — both change the price materially, and both are routinely forgotten because neither feels like a car event.

Safety

Step by step

1. Report a change of address, including a temporary one.Postcode is one of the largest single factors in motor pricing, because it reflects claims and theft experience for an area. Report the move as soon as you have a date. Also report a long stay elsewhere, such as a student living away or a work placement, if the car is kept there.
2. Report where the car is kept overnight if that changes.Garage, driveway, allocated bay, on the street, or a car park are all different risks and the policy records one of them. Moving from a driveway to on-street parking, or losing access to a garage, is a change worth reporting even if the address has not changed.
3. Report a change of car properly, not by assuming it transfers.Cover does not follow you automatically to a new vehicle. Contact the insurer before you drive it — most will transfer the policy to the new vehicle and adjust the premium, and some will refuse to cover the new vehicle at all, which is much better to discover before the purchase. Ask for the new certificate before the first journey.
4. Report a new job, a second job, or a change of job title.Occupation is part of the risk description. So is the class of use, which changes if you begin commuting, begin visiting sites, or stop driving to work entirely. All three commonly change together when someone changes job.
5. Report a change in annual mileage.Give an honest estimate rather than a round number chosen to look good. Understating mileage is a misrepresentation, and it is easily checked against MOT records after a claim. If your circumstances have changed enough that last year's figure is wrong, say so.
6. Report drivers added or removed.Someone learning to drive on the car, a partner moving in, a named driver who has bought their own car. Adding and removing drivers is routine and normally carries an administration fee as well as any premium change.
7. Report points, convictions and DVLA matters.Motoring convictions must be declared, normally as soon as they are imposed rather than at renewal — check your own policy wording for the timing. Non-motoring unspent convictions are also commonly asked about. So is a medical condition that DVLA has been told about, because it can affect the licence the policy assumes you hold.
8. Report incidents even where you are not claiming.Almost every motor policy requires notification of any incident, whether or not a claim follows. This is the single most commonly missed obligation, and it matters most when the other party makes a claim months later.
9. Check the amended documents when they arrive.A new certificate, schedule or statement of fact should follow any change. Read it. Confirm the change is described accurately and that nothing else has been altered. This is your evidence that the disclosure was made.
10. Expect an administration fee, and check it against the policy.Mid-term amendment fees are normal and are set out in the policy documentation. If a fee looks out of line with what the documents state, that is a complaint, not an argument — raise it in writing.

Tips

• Keep the confirmation emails for every mid-term change in one folder with the policy documents. At claim time the question is what you told them and when, and an email answers it in seconds.
• A change that reduces the risk — moving to a garage, dropping the commute, cutting your mileage — is still worth reporting. It can reduce the premium, and it keeps the record accurate.
• If your insurer says a change means they can no longer cover you, ask for that in writing and give yourself time. Do not let the policy lapse while you sort it out.

Common mistakes

• Waiting until renewal to mention a change — The duty is ongoing. A claim occurring between the change and the renewal is assessed against the information the insurer held at the time, which was wrong.
• Assuming cover transfers automatically to a new car — It does not. The certificate names a vehicle. Driving a new car before the insurer has amended the policy risks driving uninsured.
• Not reporting a bump because nobody claimed — Policies require notification of incidents, not just claims. Late notification is a well-established reason for a refused claim when the other party surfaces later.

Questions people ask