Website: Job titles make a difference in car insurance premiums

How do you describe your job when you fill out a form?

According to insurance comparison site confused.com, how you describe what you do for a living can affect how much you pay for car insurance.

Although this sounds like a trivial thing, just one space on an application form, the managing director of the website says that insurers keep a record of claims based on the job title of the person making the claim.

If there are a large number of claims from those claiming a specific job title, using that description can cost an applicant more than someone who does the same job but describes their position differently.

For example, confused.com claims that someone who says that they are a “barrister” on the car insurance application will be charged an average of 22 percent more than someone who says they are a “lawyer”.

A “journalist” is likely to pay up to 33 percent less for their car insurance than someone who says they are a “newspaper reporter”.

There are a number of legitimate ways to describe most jobs, according to the website’s managing director, and by shopping around for quotes using various job titles it can be possible to find a better rate.

The website points out, however, that lying on an application can invalidate a policy, so while it is fine to state your profession in a way that will bring you the best possible premium, it isn’t a good idea to claim a job title that has no relation to what you do for a living.

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