If you look at the title of this article, you might ask yourself, “Why would I want to invalidate car insurance?” Well, that’s a good question, because, of course, you would not want to do that. Without car insurance coverage in Singapore, a person is not legally allowed to drive. Therefore, by examining the ways in which you could invalidate your current or future motor insurance policy, we are, in actuality, providing you with guidance on how to avoid invalidating it.
To be sure, there are a number of actions you could take that would make your insurance provider essentially void your insurance policy. However, there are other frowned upon activities that may only result in a claim being denied or an increase in your premiums, without your insurer dropping you entirely. So where is the line when it comes to these actions, and how can you avoid crossing it? Kwiksure Singapore answers these questions below.
How to completely invalidate car insurance
What do we mean by ‘invalidate’, anyway? For the purposes of this article, it means that you simply will not be able to have any claim on your policy approved by the insurer for any reason. This can be a very serious situation, as having invalid insurance is basically equivalent to having no insurance at all in the eyes of the law; all of which can lead to both big legal and financial troubles in some cases.
Here are some items that might cause your insurance company to invalidate car insurance:
- Giving the insurer incorrect personal information – Many times we are skeptical to be completely forthright with our personal information. However, you will want to be so with your insurer, as lying about any particular aspect of your details can lead to your policy being invalid. For example, insurers often use the area you live as one factor when deciding your insurance premiums during underwriting. Giving them an incorrect address then may lead to the premium being lower than it should be based on the safety of driving in that area can lead to the insurer voiding your policy.
- Commuting when you should not – There are car insurance policies available that only allow the driver to drive for social reasons, which means that you cannot use your vehicle to drive to work, or as part of any type of commercial endeavor. If you have this type of policy, it’s important to adhere to the social driving aspect of it, lest you risk your policy being invalidated.
- Listing the wrong person as the primary driver – Sometimes known as ‘fronting’, parents can potentially list themselves as the primary driver of their child’s car, and their child as an ‘additional driver’, in order to save money on premiums. This practice is actually illegal, and can quickly get a car insurance policy canceled, on top of getting you charged with insurance fraud.
- Charging for rides – Standard car insurance policies do not allow you to use your vehicle to make money in any way. As such, if you decide you want to use your vehicle as a taxi, no matter how informally, this can lead to an invalidated policy.
- Failure to report car modifications – Mechanical, and sometimes cosmetic modifications to your vehicle need to be disclosed to your insurer, as they can potentially result in altered premiums.
- Failure to properly register or inspect your vehicle – Insurance policies only provide coverage when drivers are behind the wheel of a vehicle that is legal to drive in every way. As with many other locations around the world, Singapore requires that vehicles be both officially registered with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and officially inspected as often as every year depending on the age of your vehicle. Without either of these, your car will not be legal to drive, and your insurance will thusly be invalid.
- Not maintaining your vehicle – Car insurance companies require that your vehicle be road ready and safe to operate. For this reason, if your vehicle is in disrepair and you fail to fix the issue as quickly as possible, your insurance provider could invalidate car insurance you’ve already paid for.
Having your car insurance claims denied
While the items above can make it so that your car insurance is pretty much as good as having no insurance at all, there are other actions that can simply cause your insurance to be unusable in certain situations. Here’s a list of things that can lead to a claim on your insurance policy being denied:
- Failure to report an accident – If you have an accident, even in the event of a minor fender bender, your insurer can deny any claims you submit afterward if they feel that they may be related to an undisclosed accident.
- Fibbing about your mileage – You may or may not have heard of such a thing, but there is a type of car insurance known as a ‘capped’ policy that limits the number of miles your vehicle can be driven in a single year while still remaining insured. Just be careful not to go over the cap, or any claims you make on your policy may be denied.
- Driving with unsecured pets – Being a responsible pet owner is about more than just regular walks and feedings. When driving with your pet, if they are not secured, they could be a distraction to your driving, or even physically get in the way. Due to this, if your insurer finds out you were driving with an unsecured pet, any claims you make on your policy will likely be declined.
- Letting someone else drive – In case you didn’t know, your car insurance policy actually covers you and not the car. (Why don’t they call it driver insurance then, am I right?) As much as it can be convenient to let somebody else take the wheel, this driver will not be insured by a standard car insurance policy, as it will only apply to you.
- Changing jobs – Underwriters actually do consider the job you have when they are setting your car insurance premiums. Because of this, it’s important that you update them when you switch positions. Failure to do so can lead to claim denial further down the line.
- Driving with improper footwear – You may have heard that it’s illegal to drive with bare feet. While this is not always true, it is true that any claims on your car insurance policy may be denied if you have on footwear that may hinder your ability to drive. With this in mind, please leave you platform shoes with the goldfish in them in the back seat until you’re finished driving.
- Decorating your mirrors or windshield – You know that mirrors on your car are for more than just looking at yourself, right? The real reason they are there is to allow you to see every angle around your car so that you can drive safely. If you obscure your view through your windows or mirrors, you may find that any claims you make on your insurance get declined.
- Forgetting to lock your car – Locking your keys in your car is annoying, but nobody will accuse you of enabling somebody else to steal your car if you do. Leaving your car unlocked – whether knowingly or by accident – on the other hand, can allow a thief to take your vehicle in a flash, and lead to your theft claim being denied.
- Driving in a way or place you shouldn’t – You may have a fast car, but taking it on a raceway, or engaging in a street race or similarly dangerous activity, will most likely get any resulting claims declined even faster.
In clarification
To sum up, when it comes to car insurance, honesty is the best policy. Being completely on the same level with your insurance company will make it so that they do not have any grounds to deny claims or invalidate car insurance policies. After all, the idea that it’s better to be safe than sorry is kind of the entire reason to get car insurance in the first place, so why would you pay for it only to then risk having the safety it provides taken away from you?
One final thing to note is that all of the items above may not apply to your specific motor insurance policy. Be sure to dig into the details of your policy documentation so that you have a clear idea of what actions could be detrimental to your coverage. If you still have any questions, you can reach out to your insurer for clarification; or, better yet, talk to the helpful insurance professionals at Kwiksure Singapore!
Contact us
So now that you are aware of the different things you could do to invalidate car insurance plans, hopefully you will be able to capably navigate both the roadways of Singapore and the local insurance landscape in a way that will keep you insured and road legal. It’s understandable if you still have some questions, though.
You can get answers from knowledgeable insurance professionals, as well as upgrade your car insurance plan by contacting the team at Kwiksure Singapore! Get the information you need, as well as a comparison of plans from top Singapore car insurance companies and free car insurance quotes. Contact us today!