Car insurance, like any insurance, is a financial commitment you don’t want to approach lightly. You will be paying a lot of money to keep your vehicle – and yourself – safe. You want to make sure you’re getting as much return and support for your payments as possible. Making a mistake could set you off hundreds and thousands of dirhams. What should you do to make sure you’re not losing out?
It is important to make sure you pick your car insurance with care. In the UAE, finding the right insurance can be easier through platforms like Bayzat that can offer you options to compare and choose the right product. But no matter what insurance you choose or methods you use to find one, the key is to always research your options and make sure to understand the insurance your buying. You do not want to end up in a situation where your insurance is invalid or your claim rejected.
In fact, the law in the UAE allows insurers to cancel the car insurance policy. They do need to provide the policyholder thirty days notice but nonetheless, the ability to cancel your insurance is a possibility. But what are the reasons an insurer might do this and how to ensure you don’t nullify your insurance by accident? Let’s look at the most common mistakes you could be making.
Insurance fraud
It goes without saying that dishonesty and fraud will nullify your insurance. Therefore, you should never lie about your car license or other personal details. You also can’t make fabricated claims or deliberately omit information. It is very important to read the terms and conditions of your policy before you sign – as well as recap afterwards – to ensure you understand your obligations. Naturally, insurance fraud is something you tend to commit intentionally. But you might into trouble if you don’t understand your responsibilities and therefore, it is crucial to make sure you are aware of the information you need to provide.
Car modifications
While car modifications on their own are not a reason for nullifying your car insurance, you might be in trouble if you forgot to report them. If you modify your car in any way that affects its performance, safety and value, you need to inform the insurance company about those modifications. Failure to do so will usually result in the immediate termination of your policy. Therefore, if you end up in an accident, your claim might be rejected. If you are thinking about modifying your car, it’s a good idea to talk to your insurer and check with them if you are allowed to go ahead with your plans. If you get the green light, then you can make the modifications and report the final details to your car insurer.
Car maintenance
Furthermore, you need to stay on top of your car maintenance. Your insurer could potentially nullify your insurance if you don’t take proper care of your car. It is your responsibility to make sure the car is in good working condition and that it doesn’t pose a threat on road. What this means is that you should regularly have your car checked with service companies accepted by your insurer. If you run into any problems or have malfunctions, take care of them as soon as possible. As mentioned, it is also crucial to ensure you always service your car in a place that is officially accepted by your insurer. For example, you need to ensure you check-in terms and conditions whether self-repairs are accepted or not.
Related to maintenance is also the more general upkeep of the car, especially locking the doors. If you accidentally leave your car unlocked, the insurer could actually reject your insurance claim if the car is lost or damaged. They might even nullify your car insurance altogether. Therefore, it is important to make sure you always lock your car and generally take good care of it.
Illegal or dangerous driving
It’s also possible for your insurer to nullify your car insurance if you don’t disobey the UAE traffic laws. Continuous failure to follow the traffic laws won’t only lead to problems with the policy but your insurer might also take not and cancel your policy. It’s important to note that smaller violations such as getting a parking ticket are usually not big enough to cause a problem with your insurance (other than perhaps raising your premiums). But more dangerous violations such as driving without a license or under the influence of alcohol could allow the insurance company to cancel your policy and make your insurance claims invalid.
Other drivers
You have to name the people that will drive the vehicle in your policy. You are usually able to include family members and other people as necessary. You can, therefore, have your family members drive the car as much as they need to. But having people that aren’t named driving your car could get you into trouble. If your car is driven by a friend that’s not mentioned in the policy and gets into an accident, it is unlikely your insurance company will pay for any damages. Loaning the car to a third party could even result in your policy being cancelled. It’s therefore a good idea to avoid handing out your car to other people.
Business use of car
Finally, if you get car insurance for your family vehicle, you usually cannot use it for business. Most car insurance in Dubai comes with a limitation that only allows the vehicle to be used for private use. You can’t go out on business trips on your private vehicle. If you run into any trouble and your insurer finds out you were on a business trip, you might find yourself in trouble. If you are looking to insure a purely business vehicle or you use your car for both, you will need specialist car insurance. You can find most insurers have insurance for business vehicles but you will need to look for it and make sure you use your car insurance correctly.
As the above shows, there are many ways your car insurer could end up nullifying your car insurance. A lot of them are easy to avoid, however. You simply need to make sure that you fully understand the specific terms and conditions of your insurance. Take good care of your vehicle and follow all the traffic laws. This will ensure you won’t run into any issues with your car insurance and you can benefit from the perks that come with having a good insurance.
