Survey finds young drivers are more 'fluid' about definition of motor insurance fraud
Young Irish drivers are being accused of being more "fluid" on the definition of motor insurance fraud than older drivers.
A survey of those under the age of 29 has found that more than 56% think giving false information about your profession or milage is not fraud, or is only "mild fraud".
The Red C survey of 750 drivers for Liberty Insurance, found 31% did not have a big issue with lying about the primary driver of their car.
Deirde Ashe from Liberty says the findings point to a bigger issue.
She said: "Fraud is impacting on this market, up to €50 on every policy is as a result of fraudulent behaviour.
"So for that reason we need to reduce the amount of fraud happening in the market place."
The survey revealed that 46% of all respondents (ie of all ages) said that being untruthful with your insurer about the number of penalty points on your license constitutes ‘extreme fraud'.
Liberty Insurance CEO, Sharon O’Brien, said: “Ultimately, intentionally misleading your insurer about your driving record, your vehicle and other details on a policy application is a form of fraud. Fraud is a very serious problem for our industry and impacts significantly on cost. It is not a victimless crime and affects the premiums that our customers pay.
“Most Irish people recognise this and want to see these people face harsher penalties. The rapid rise of premiums in Ireland is of course not sustainable.
The research was published in advance of Liberty Insurance’s Driving Motor Insurance Reform stakeholder event being hosted in Dublin today.
