Can your job affect your car insurance?

There are a number of ways you can try to reduce the cost of your car insurance. You can use price comparison sites, voluntarily increase your excess (although don’t set it too high) and add a driver to your policy.

Another thing that can have an impact on the cost of your car insurance is your job title. To find out how your job title can affect your premiums (whether it puts it up and makes it cheaper) and whether you need to inform your insurer of a change in your career, we’re going to run you through the basics.

‘Chef’ or ‘kitchen staff’?

You probably don’t think twice about your job title when looking for car insurance. But your occupation and how you describe it can have an impact on the price of your car insurance.

Your insurance can be higher or lower depending on whether you travel regularly as part of your job or whether you carry equipment or stock in your vehicle. That’s not all – certain jobs also carry with them certain assumptions. For example, bar staff commonly drive late at night when accidents are more common.

Specialised jobs can increase your premiums as well according to GoCompare. They found that a ‘chef’ can pay more than ‘kitchen staff’, ‘music teachers’ more than ‘teachers’, and ‘construction workers’ more than ‘builders’. If you’re a full time parent or retired, choosing this option instead of ‘unemployed’ could save you money as well.

Basically, if your job could fall into a number of different categories then it’s worth tweaking the title and checking the quotes for each variation to see which is cheaper. You need to be honest about your job role though – saying you’re a nurse when you’re in fact a policewoman will only cause you trouble later on if you need to make a claim as this is fraud.

To have a play around with different variations of your job title, use Money Saving Expert’s Job Picker tool.

Invalidate your car insurance

As with other insurance policies, you must inform your insurer if your circumstances change. This is if you move house or get a new car – but it’s also if you change your job.

According to uSwitch, 60 per cent of drivers said that they did not tell their insurer the last time their job role changed. But it’s very important that you do inform your insurer of a change in career or job title as you could invalidate your insurance cover if you don’t. As a result, your insurer could refuse to pay out in the event of a claim.

Declaring a change in your career could see your insurance premiums go up or down. You could face a charge as well to amend the details of your policy. On average insurers can charge around £22 but this can go up to £50 depending on the insurer.