More than half of British motorists are prepared to avoid telling their car insurance provider about a minor accident according to a new survey.

Whilst it may seem that smaller dents or bumps in your car may not be worth the hassle of reporting to to your insurance company, mainly due to the size of the excess, there may be a bigger financial penalty if you don’t tell your provider. Most insurance policies have a requirement that all accidents and damage to your vehicle has to be reported, if you don’t then you could invalidate your policy and you will be leaving yourself at significant financial risk.

A poll by LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that 58 per cent of of motorists would not tell their insurer about a minor incident, if the cost of the damage was less than the excess. Only 21 per cent would definitely or probably report the incidents.

James Burton, Product Director at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said: “Consumers understandably feel nervous declaring information that could result in premium increases.

“This is a real concern as many motorists could be invalidating their policy, when instead they need to look at the bigger picture where factors such as the size of the claim, driving history, fault and policy details more often determine premium increases after claims.

“Our findings are symptomatic of the challenges that exist in motor insurance right now with new customers often priced differently to existing customers, creating a disconnect in how loyalty is recognised.”

The same poll found that older drivers were less likely to inform their insurers about an accident, only 15 per cent of people aged over 45 would inform the insurer, compared to 42 per cent of 18-24-year-old drivers which would definitely report it.

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