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The quick answer
30-second read- There are two different situations. An answer that was wrong when you bought or renewed, and a detail that was right then but has changed since.
- Wrong at purchase or renewal: the law on misrepresentation applies. It separates careless mistakes from deliberate or reckless ones, and treats them differently. Reasonable care matters.
- Changed since: whether and when you must tell your insurer depends on your policy terms. Simply not updating a detail isn’t, by itself, a misrepresentation.
- Either way, fix it as soon as you spot it. Contact your insurer, explain, and keep the confirmation.
Insurers can check the answers you gave when you make a claim, not just when you buy. That’s why a mistake at purchase, or a detail that quietly went out of date, can matter months later. The good news: the rules don’t treat every situation the same way.
What counts as a wrong detail?
Start by asking when it went wrong. Was the answer already wrong when you answered the insurer’s questions at purchase or renewal? Or was it right then, and your circumstances changed during the policy year? The common details are the same in both cases:
| Detail | How it goes stale |
|---|---|
| Occupation | A new role or leaving work. See our job-title guide. |
| Address and overnight parking | A house move, or parking on the street where you used to have a driveway. |
| Modifications | Changes you made, or ones a previous owner made that you didn’t know about. Tinted windows are a common example. |
| Annual mileage | Estimating well below what you actually drive. |
| Points, claims and convictions | Left out, or not added when they happen if your policy asks for that. |
Does it have to be deliberate?
For answers given at purchase or renewal: no, but it changes what the insurer can do. The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 asks whether you took reasonable care not to give a wrong answer to the questions you were asked. If you did, the insurer generally has no remedy for the mistake.
If you didn’t take reasonable care, the Act separates careless mistakes from deliberate or reckless ones. The remedies available to the insurer are different for each, which is why an honest slip and a knowingly false answer are not treated the same way.
The Financial Ombudsman Service looks at the clarity of the question you were asked, what a reasonable person would have understood it to mean, and whether the insurer would have acted differently with the right answer. Read its guidance on incorrect information.
What can the insurer do?
For a wrong answer at purchase or renewal, it depends on the type of mistake and what the insurer would have done. In broad terms:
- Reasonable care taken: the wrong answer shouldn’t affect your claim.
- Careless mistake: the insurer is put in the position it would have been in with the right answer. If it would still have offered cover at a higher price, a claim may be paid proportionately. If it would have added a term, that term may be applied. If it wouldn’t have offered cover at all, it may be able to treat the policy as if it never existed and refund the premium.
- Deliberate or reckless: the insurer may be able to treat the policy as void and keep the premium.
These are the outcomes the Act allows for; what actually happens turns on your individual circumstances.
For a detail that changed after you bought: this isn’t a misrepresentation under the Act, because your answer was true when you gave it. What matters instead is what your policy says about changes you must report, and whether the insurer can show the change made a difference. Not updating a detail can still affect a claim if your policy required you to report it, so read that section of your wording.
If you disagree with an insurer’s decision in either situation, complain to the insurer first. It has up to eight weeks to send you a final response; if you’re unhappy with that response, or eight weeks pass without one, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free to use.
How to avoid it
At purchase and renewal, answer the actual questions carefully and read the statement of fact to check every answer is right. If a question is unclear, ask the insurer rather than guessing.
During the policy year, check what your policy says about changes and tell your insurer about the ones it lists as they happen: typically a new job, a house move, a modification, or points on your licence. Most insurers let you update details mid-term.
What to do next
- Find the wrong detail and work out when it went wrong.Compare your statement of fact with what’s true today, and with what was true when you answered.
- Tell your insurer.Explain what’s wrong, what’s correct, and whether it was wrong from the start or changed later. Ask what it means for your cover and price.
- Keep the confirmation.Check the updated documents record the right answer.
“I’ve noticed a detail on my policy may be wrong: [what it says] should be [what’s true]. It was [wrong when I took out the policy / correct then but changed on (date)]. I’d like to correct it. Can you confirm whether this changes my cover, premium or terms, and send updated documents?”