According to a recent research on car insurance premiums across UK, it has been stated that your job affects your insurance premium by as much as £1400 per year. The car insurers of the UK perceive certain professions such as journalists, doctors and media professionals to be at high risk and imply much of the insurance premium as compared to other professions such as teaching and nursing which enjoy considerably lower premium. This is because the insurers have conducted their own research to build up a database of how individuals of a particular profession behave behind the wheels. For instance, doctors and journalists live hard and fast lives and on previous occasions, insurers have had huge cost payouts against claims made by these professionals. Students who have just received their driving license and a new vehicle simultaneously can be reckless and rash on the roads and hence, are deemed as high risk. On the other hand, solicitors, teachers, nurses and police officers are often considered to be the friends of the society and considered as lower risk professions who pay much less premium towards their insurance. Some professions, by virtue of their nature of job will accrue a risk factor and hence a higher premium. For example, individuals employed in the field of entertainment, arts, media and sports might not be risky when they sit behind the wheels however, chances of a public figure accompanying them is high which involves high risk, especially if they are sports stars. Injuries caused to sports stars during accidents can cost them their career and the insurance pay outs are maximum. Electricians and builders are always on the go and carry expensive tools along with them. Therefore, the vehicles of these professionals are at a high likelihood of being stolen for the equipments.
In the UK, your job affects your insurance premium. In fact, the difference in the amount of the car insurance premium between two professions is so wide that it could leave you with enough money to buy a brand new car. And although, it is not possible to switch one’s profession for the sake of paying lesser car insurance premium, you can certainly gather some thoughts on how you would like to describe yourself on the insurer’s application form.
It’s always not what you do but how you describe it
Often it has been observed that if you are careful with how you describe your job on the insurance application form. For example, if you declare your profession as a ‘journalist’ instead of an editor, you can considerably lower your car insurance premium. Similarly, a ‘chef’ will pay approximately £800 towards his car insurance premium wherein a ‘kitchen worker’ can pay approximately £100 less. Similarly if you declare you profession to be ‘marketing – non travelling’ instead of a ‘writer’, you could save about £15 – 20. A ‘photographer’ will accrue lesser insurance premium as compared to a ‘fashion photographer.’ If you are the owner of a pub, you might pay an approximate insurance premium of £750. If you simply declare yourself as a ‘landlord’ you will pay only about £700. TV Broadcasters pay about £780 while broadcasters pay about £680. Now, £100 is a lot of money.
You can be rest assured that there is nothing illegal about this. The insurance database of these companies has numerous overlapping professional descriptions and merely selecting the cheapest truthful option can save you a lot of money. However it is also imperative to remember that deliberately hiding one’s profession or any other information on the insurance application form can lead to invalidation of any insurance claims you make. In dire cases, the policy might get cancelled whatsoever and the applicant can be prosecuted for fraud.
Work Hours versus Insurance Premiums
Accidents mostly occur when roads are at their busiest. Professionals who use their cars during these hours possess a higher chance of collisions. On the flipside, individuals who work in the press, nightclubs and casinos sometimes stay at work through most parts of the night leaving their vehicles at high risk locations and increasing their chances of being stolen or damaged. Such job affects yours insurance.
Other aspects of your job which affect your car insurance premium
If your profession demands that you drive around, your premium will show a hike because the more time you spend behind the wheels, the greater risk you bear to meet with an accident. Additionally, you might also need professional indemnity insurance. This insurance is available in three levels as given below.
Level 1 which covers all your work related driving such as visiting work sites, factories etc.
Level 2 covers all the above and has provisions to include a second named driver.
Level 3 caters to your needs if your profession completely rests upon travelling such as salesmen, flower sellers or vets.
Apart from this, where you stay and work also contributes to your insurance premium. Motorists in Scotland can pay approximately £400 less than the ones who live in London. Similarly, professionals in North West England pay 50% more towards their car insurance as compared to the ones living in the South Western region.
According to a recent research, in the UK the top five expensive professions for car insurance are:
- Disco Owners, who can pay approximately £6809.
- Professional footballers (not a part of the football league), who can pay upto £6264.
- Diplomatic staff can be billed a neat £4808.
- Nightclub owners, who pay approximately £3842 and
- Football referee, who can pay £3680.
Of course there are other aspects which contribute towards one’s car insurance premium such as the type of car, driving history and age of the applier, however, none of them can be worked around to achieving a lesser insurance quote. Acquiring the cheapest car insurance quote is not easy however not gruesome either. Numerous websites offer a wonderful starting point to compare quotes online. Consumers can make these subtle changes in the declaration of their job descriptions in order to achieve an optimum amount of car insurance premium.
