Making changes to your car insurance policy
When you buy a car insurance policy, you'll usually have to fill in a bunch of information about yourself.
And if these details change, you'll need to let your insurer know. If you don't, your policy might not be valid when you need to make a claim.
And if you've deliberately kept things secret, you could be committing car insurance fraud.
Here's 14 things you'll need to tell your car insurer about.
Changing your name
If you change your name by deed poll, or get married and take your spouse's surname, you'll need to update your car insurance details.
You'll also need to update your details with the DVLA. That's because the information on your driving licence always needs to match the details on your car insurance policy.
Your insurer might want proof that you've changed your name. To prove your new name, you can send them your:
- D1 form, if you changed your name by deed poll
- Marriage certificate, if you've changed your name after getting married
Moving to a new address
If you change your address, make sure you tell your insurer as soon as possible.
Your premium might go up or down when you move house, because your address is one of the big things that can affect the price of your car insurance.
It might be tempting not to tell your insurer that you’ve moved, in case your price goes up. But it’s really important to let them know — having incorrect details on your policy could seriously affect your cover later on.
And make sure you're using your own address. If you use someone else's address to get a cheaper premium, that's fraud. 🚫
Things can get a little more complex if you spread your time across different addresses. If that's the case, your best bet is to chat to your insurer.
Don't forget to update your licence
You'll also need to update the DVLA when you change address (or you could get a £1,000 fine). Just like your name, the address on your driving licence needs to be the same as the address on your car insurance policy.
It's also worth updating your vehicle logbook - or V5C, to give it the proper name. This is what proves who the registered keeper is.
Having different addresses on your car insurance and V5 can cause problems if you have to make a claim.
Buying a new car
If you buy a new car, you can usually move your current policy over to the new vehicle. But you might see a big change in the price of your insurance.
You could shop around for a new policy, but you will usually have to pay a cancellation fee to get out of your existing contract (usually around £50, but it depends how much time is left on your policy).
So, if you're the owner of a brand-new (or maybe third-hand) car - congratulations! - make sure you let your insurer know before you pick up your new set of wheels.
Before you buy a new car, it's worth getting a quote on it to make sure it won't make the price of your insurance go up.
Things that tend to make a car more expensive to insure are its:
You can find out your car’s insurance group and estimated value with our free car checker.
Getting married
Insurance is probably the last thing on your mind while you’re planning your big day. But it’s important to let your insurer know when you get married — not least because you might end up with a better price.
Insurers use your marital status and title to figure out your price — and married people are less likely to make claims.
Changing jobs or getting a promotion
Your job title also affects your insurance price. As with everything else in insurance, it's all based on the data insurers have about how often people with your job title make claims.
So, if your job changes, you'll need to tell them. Same thing goes if you become unemployed, retire, or quit work to study full time.
There are a few different ways to check how a new job title is likely to affect the price of your insurance. MoneySavingExpert has a pretty great calculator.
It's worth having a think about the different ways you can describe your job while getting quotes, as it may reduce your premium. You should always be honest, though.
Changing how you use your car
Insurers class car insurance policies as 'social', 'commuting' or 'business' use.
Make sure you understand what each of these means when you take out your policy. Social use doesn't cover driving to work, even if it's just to the train station and back.
Likewise, if you start a lift club to make a bit of extra cash, be warned: your insurer might decide you're essentially a taxi hire service, which would mean your policy isn't valid.
If your mileage is a lot more than you estimated it to be when you took out your policy, you'll be less likely to get a payout if you claim.
If you change the way you use your car, tell your insurance provider as soon as you can.
(Most Cuvva policies include "Class 1 business use", if you were wondering. But our learner driver insurance doesn't.)
Modifying your car
Got yourself a new set of tyres or lowered your car suspension? Well, look at you.
Remember to tell your insurer about any modifications you make to your car. These include changes to your engine, suspension, brakes, body, exhaust, paint work or wheels. If your car changes, your policy needs to change too, right?
Be careful with this one. A lot of insurers don't cover modified vehicles. So modifying your car could make your insurance invalid. So double check your policy before you make any modifications.
Cuvva does insure cars with some modifications. Here's a list of the modifications we're happy to cover.
Getting a driving conviction
Look, we're sure this won't happen. But if it does, this is something you really have to tell your insurer about.
Having a driving conviction, like speeding, or points on your licence, makes you a risky driver. And the riskier you are, the higher your price.
Best to stick to the rules of the road.
Changing where your car is kept
Where you park your car can change your premium. And that's because cars are more likely to get damaged or stolen if they're left parked out on the road.
If you can, it's usually best to keep your car in a garage. Otherwise, "off-street parking" (like a driveway) tends to be safest.
When you tell your insurer that you're keeping your car somewhere new, the price of your policy might change.
You'll also need to keep your insurer in the loop if you start keeping your car at a different address more often.
This happens a lot when relationships start getting serious, and you're spending as much time parked outside your partner's address than your own.
Going on a road trip
We're very jealous. But before you hit the road, make sure you tell your insurer.
(PS, we love road trips so much that we wrote a bunch of guides about them! Check out our favourite winter road trips, a selection of London road trips for electric car drivers, some UK weekend getaway ideas, and some romantic road trips.)
Letting someone borrow your car
With most car insurance policies, you can let other people drive your car by adding them as a named driver. But if they start using it more than you, that could be a problem.
The person who does the bulk of the driving needs to be listed as the "main driver". If the main driver isn't the person who does most of the driving, that counts as a kind of insurance fraud called "fronting".
If the person using your car is younger than 25, that might change your price too. Younger drivers tend to have more incidents on the road and your insurer will want to update your policy to reflect this. If you're not sure, best to read your policy document or get in touch with your insurer to double check.
The details for your named drivers all have to be kept up to date, too. If they get a new job, or move to a different address, or anything else we've listed - let your insurer know.
Temporary insurance might be a better bet
Adding a named driver can sometimes be quite expensive, It’s often cheaper for them to get a temporary insurance policy on your car.
Our temporary insurance policies are fully comprehensive — and they’re completely separate from your insurance. So if your friend or relative has an accident, it won’t affect your claims history.
Developing a health condition
Sadly, there are certain health conditions - bad eyesight, for example - that make you more likely to have an accident.
So if you develop a physical or medical condition that makes you less able to drive, you'll have to tell the DVLA. And if they put any restrictions on your licence because of it, you'll have to tell your insurer.
GOV.UK has a pretty handy tool to help you check if you need to tell the DVLA about your health condition.
You change gender
If you change gender, you need to update the DVLA to get a new driving licence. You'll need to update your car insurance policy too.
That's because your car insurance policy needs to match the number on your driving licence. And your driving licence number is made up of different bits of information about you. Like your date of birth, name and gender.
It's worth noting that this shouldn't affect the price of your policy. It's been illegal to charge men and women different prices for a while now.
Generally, you don't need to do this mid-policy, because it doesn't affect your price. But if your policy's up for renewal, it's worth mentioning it.
Updating your bank
If you pay monthly for your car insurance, you need to keep your direct debit up to date and tell your insurer if your bank details change.
This is true even if you want to cancel your policy. Cancelling your direct debit won't cancel your pay-monthly policy. But it might mean your insurer cancels your policy for non-payment, and that can make it harder to get cover in future.
You may be charged an admin fee to update your details
Most insurers will charge you a small amount to change your details. These charges are called "admin fees".
Admin fees can apply for all sorts of changes to your policy, like a new address, name, or job title. You'll also usually have to pay an admin fee to get extra copies of your insurance documents.
Admin fees are usually between £15 and £30, but it varies pretty widely between different insurance companies.
We hate hidden fees - which is why we don't charge any. It's all super transparent.
We've written a guide about hidden fees in car insurance, including our top 10 tips on how to avoid being caught out.
Cancelling your car insurance
Sometimes it's cheaper to cancel your policy altogether and find a new one.
So if you do move to a new address, or change job, and find that the price of your policy goes up massively after you tell your insurer, it's worth seeing if you can get a better price elsewhere.
You'll usually have to pay a cancellation fee, depending on how long is left on your policy. But once you've done the maths, you might find it's worth it.
Our final bit of advice? Always read your policy documents (yes, even the fine print). It's boring stuff, but it's important.
If you're in the first two weeks of your policy, you'll be in your cooling-off period. If your details change much while you're in the cooling-off period, you probably won't need to pay to make changes.
We've written a huge article about cancelling your car insurance. If you want to cancel your policies AA, Admiral, AXA, Churchill, Diamond, Direct Line, esure, Hastings, LV, More Than, the RAC or Tesco Bank, we've got bonus guides which are linked to from that article, too! Happy to help.