Hi

 

I'm in a situation and extremely concerned. I know I have been stupid so please be kind, I am beating myself up enough. 

 

I was previously part time employed, and part time self employed. My insurance cover reflects business mileage plus communiting, but they never asked what my self employed job is and most of my income was from my employment, with very few miles being business miles, so it didn't seem relevant to bring it up. I didn't even realize it would affect a claim, wasn't on my radar and I was hardly expecting to have my car written off

 

I left my part time job last year, and in the meantime my insurance renewed itself. I failed to update it to say that I am full time self employed, didn't even cross my mind

 

My insurance is technically invalidated if they find out. My insurance company are currently navigating my non fault claim which happened a few weeks ago

 

Am I going to be asked to prove my occupaation, is that standard practice? I am about to fill in a statement form, outlining what happened at the time of the accident so they can determine who was at fault (even though the other party has already admitted it...). This form asks me for my occupation, and states that if I give incorrect information there may be proceedings for contempt of court being brought against me if I make a false statement in the document. 

 

I have no reason to make an incorrect statement, but if I put my occupation on the form it won't match my policy and I may not be covered

 

I am SO worried. I've been given a hire car, and am having physiotherapy for my injuries as a direct result of the accident. I worry that if my insurance is invalidated I will have to cover these costs

 

Does anyone have any experience of this?

 

Are they likely to ask for proof? All I can seem to find using google, is that they may ask for proof. Is this more likely with a fault claim? 

 

Do I just come clean and accept I may need to pay all of these costs, or do I play dumb? 

 

Help 😞

Not sure I'm seeing the problem.

 

Your insurance says you are both employed and self employed.  The incident happened during the time that you are self employed.

 

Have you specified the hours for each?  If you have I could see that might be an issue.  If you haven't, then part time can presumably mean anything from zero, to a gnats whisker of full time.  If you are self employed, are your full time hours (e.g.) 50, but you're currently working 49, so therefore are still part time?  Either way, the rest is surely semantics and you have insurance for the purpose the vehicle was being used for.

 

Gaz

 

Hi

 

Thanks for replying. I think perhaps I didn't explain myself well enough

 

On my insurance policy I am down as occupation "X" but this has not been actually been the case for over a year now

 

The cover is for business mileage relating to my occupation, plus social & commuting

 

It doesn't look like they asked me further information about my business mileage. Business mileage is for occupation "Y" but no mention of this on the policy 

 

Previous employed occupation and current self employed occupation are completely different 

 

If I need to prove occupation X then I am stuffed

 

And when I'm being asked questions about my occupation I'm not sure what to say, as if I say Y then they will ask why my answer doesn't match what's on the policy? Plus the form I'm being asked to fill in, I surely can't put occupation X because that would be insurance fraud and if I'm asked to prove it I can't 

Ah, I see.  

 

If it were me, I wouldn't be saying or writing anything in relation to occupation 'X' if it's not the case, for the very reason you note.

 

A quick Google would seem to provide a host of answers to your question, and potentially confirm your concerns.

 

FWIW I've had several jobs where my job title or employment don't directly match the list of options available.  So it's not an exact science, and insurers have taken the approach of the most logical match.  The difference between employed and self employed is more significant I'd think.

 

Gaz

Edited 26 September, 20231 yr by Gaz

Depends on your occupation. Most occupations are the same risk with the obvious exceptions. For instance if you were a carpenter and now you're an electrician, it's not something that would affect the premium. However if you were a carpenter and now you're a taxi driver, you could be in the 5hit house. If it's a non-fault accident, your insurer may give you some leaway because it'll be the 3rd party insurer who'll be coughing up the money, however if it's coming out of your insurer's pocket...

 

I've always found that being honest is best. If you make a mistake, own up to it. We all make mistakes and that's normally taken in to account when resolving a situation. If there is a problem and they don't pay out...   that's life I'm afraid. Nobody to blame but yourself - we all have to live with setbacks now and again.

 

No disrespect but a 2014 fabia ?  Even if you have average miles, the sums involved here are miniscule in insurance terms. It'd cost the insurer more to challange than the car's worth so I wouldn't worry too much.

Edited 26 September, 20231 yr by kodiaqsportline

Write whatever you choose regarding the occupation and stop worrying about it.

 

Your insurers will be processing the claim without reference to your occupation.

 

If you are confident that it is a no fault claim then you should not be worrying, however if you have doubts that you are not expressing here then perhaps you are right to be concerned about the gravy train that has been set in motion potentially being paid for by yourself.

 

What I am saying is pretty much what Kodiaqsportsline has said, if the TP's insurer is paying out it is because they are liable, what your actual occupation is does not change that, if its your insurer who will be on the hook for your medical expenses then they will use a false declaration to deny the claim, they would have to pay the third partys claim including any medical costs but could then sue you for the money.

 

11 hours ago, wrendubs said:

Am I going to be asked to prove my occupaation, is that standard practice?

 

No, never happened in the no fault claims that I have made but it all depends on who will be decided to be liable and the costs involved.

11 hours ago, J.R. said:

Write whatever you choose regarding the occupation and stop worrying about it.

 

Your insurers will be processing the claim without reference to your occupation.

 

If you are confident that it is a no fault claim then you should not be worrying, however if you have doubts that you are not expressing here then perhaps you are right to be concerned about the gravy train that has been set in motion potentially being paid for by yourself.

 

What I am saying is pretty much what Kodiaqsportsline has said, if the TP's insurer is paying out it is because they are liable, what your actual occupation is does not change that, if its your insurer who will be on the hook for your medical expenses then they will use a false declaration to deny the claim, they would have to pay the third partys claim including any medical costs but could then sue you for the money.

 

 

No, never happened in the no fault claims that I have made but it all depends on who will be decided to be liable and the costs involved.

 

It's so hard to know what to do. 

 

In terms of who is to blame - I'm hiding nothing. I was rear ended at a junction where there was oncoming traffic and the other party admitted liability several times. But a month later and my insurance company is still awaiting an official liability to be accepted by the other driver. I think by default it would be them, even if they now decide to deny

 

It's now difficult to insure my new car, as I need to change the policy over and they will want to check through all of my details. I'm not sure what to say when they ask my occupation! 

 

What an absolute mess. 

11 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

Depends on your occupation. Most occupations are the same risk with the obvious exceptions. For instance if you were a carpenter and now you're an electrician, it's not something that would affect the premium. However if you were a carpenter and now you're a taxi driver, you could be in the 5hit house. If it's a non-fault accident, your insurer may give you some leaway because it'll be the 3rd party insurer who'll be coughing up the money, however if it's coming out of your insurer's pocket...

 

I've always found that being honest is best. If you make a mistake, own up to it. We all make mistakes and that's normally taken in to account when resolving a situation. If there is a problem and they don't pay out...   that's life I'm afraid. Nobody to blame but yourself - we all have to live with setbacks now and again.

 

No disrespect but a 2014 fabia ?  Even if you have average miles, the sums involved here are miniscule in insurance terms. It'd cost the insurer more to challange than the car's worth so I wouldn't worry too much.

 

My business occupation would have a higher insurance premium unfortunately

 

There's no way of blurring the lines between the two, they are totally different

 

I am so unsure what to do. I need to insure my new car but they will want to check through my details including occupation. If I change it now it could void my entire claim

20 hours ago, Gaz said:

 

A quick Google would seem to provide a host of answers to your question, and potentially confirm your concerns.

 

 

It was the googling that confused me in the first place 🥴 conflicting information there and can never know what's true

 

Was hoping to get a few replies here and see if others (that have had non-fault insurance claims) have been asked to prove their occupation

 

Quote

If it were me, I wouldn't be saying or writing anything in relation to occupation 'X' if it's not the case, for the very reason you note.

 

I have no idea what to write on this statement form, as it specifically asks for my occupation

 

35 minutes ago, wrendubs said:

Was hoping to get a few replies here and see if others (that have had non-fault insurance claims) have been asked to prove their occupation

 

I've made four insurance claims over the years, two at fault, two non fault, and I've never been asked to prove my occupation.

 

G

1 minute ago, Gaz said:

 

I've made four insurance claims over the years, two at fault, two non fault, and I've never been asked to prove my occupation.

 

G

 

Reassuring, thank you

3 hours ago, wrendubs said:

I am so unsure what to do.

 

As I said above - TELL THE TRUTH  because if you don't, you'll likely end up in an even bigger mess.

DON'T TELL HIM PIKE! 😄

 

As I see it your issue probably isnt the claim, if you are telling us the true facts then its very unlikely that your occupation at the time of the accident will be questioned, the issue is that you are continuing to drive without having declared a change of circumstances to your insurer and you are at risk of being uninsured in a further accident.

 

Its a shame that the insurance was renewed, that would have been a good time to declare your new occupation, I am making the assumption that you have gone from a low risk rated occupation to a high risk one which would result in a significant premium increase, if that is not the case then why not tell them now?

Edited 27 September, 20231 yr by J.R.

Failing to disclose a material fact in the case of not thinking to inform your insurers at the time and also not thinking when given the auto-renewal details is probably no big deal unless you have gone from being a Vicar to a Publican, it's unlikely to result in your insurance being invalidated or the claim refuted, in any case they will always pay out to the 3rd party if you are held responsible.

 

Making a false declaration now in writing down an untrue occupation is a very different kettle of fish, that is deliberate.

3 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Making a false declaration now in writing down an untrue occupation is a very different kettle of fish, that is deliberate.

 

That's just it, I don't want to lie on this form, but at the same time it would be easier to not have to bring it up at all, get the claim over and done with, and then make sure I update the policy

Your ar5e, your choice.

Getting Insurance Cancelled or claims declined with you told to withdraw because your insurance was invalid is a terrible thing to happen.

 

Anyway now you have posted on a Public / Open Forum and any Loss Adjuster worth their salt are on Enthusiast Forms. 

It is a hard life.