Massaging Your Car Insurance

By Jay Tillotson

What's the difference between a solicitor and a lawyer? In the case of car insurance, £140. That's the average price difference found by solicitors who initially entered their job description as 'lawyer' when obtaining a quote for their insurance.

Likewise, a 'publican' will pay less than a 'landlord of licensed premises' - despite the fact that the two jobs are identical. And someone describing themselves as a 'chartered accountant' could end up paying more than if they just stuck to the less grand, and less expensive, tag of 'accountant'.

It's a well known fact that some jobs are viewed as higher insurance risks than others, but in some cases, like the ones mentioned above, it's not just a matter of what job you do; it's how you describe it. To combat this, it's worth trying out different job descriptions to see if you can get a cheaper premium; this isn't illegal, but you do need to make sure you're still honest. For example; listing yourself as working in customer services when you're a sales assistant is OK, calling yourself a managing director isn't.

This practice of trying out different yet related job descriptions in order to find a cheaper policy is called 'quote massaging', and is a common practice. Many insurers are now recognising that customers are being penalised for choosing the wrong job description, and are streamlining their quotation formulas.

It's important to remember that, when quote massaging, you don't stretch the truth too much. Deliberately obtaining cover using false information can put you at risk of invalid insurance and, at worst, being named on the fraud register and blacklisted by most insurers and other financial service providers. Better to spend a few extra pounds being honest than finding yourself uninsurable later on. Failing that, change your job; statistics show that the best deals go to underwriters and those working for the emergency services.

In short; it's best to compare car insurance, using as many different job descriptions that could apply to you as possible, in order to find the best deals. A car insurance quote for one occupation may be totally different than one for the same job, called something else. The same rule can apply to other types of insurance, so get massaging!