Car insurance provider esure has responded to the latest figures published by the Motor Insurance Bureau, which show that one in ten drivers believe ‘fronting’ is a legitimate way of obtaining cheaper car insurance.

‘Fronting’ occurs when people lie on their insurance application forms in an attempt to secure a cheaper car insurance policy. However, esure points out that this type of fraud is a false economy and is likely to result in the policy becoming invalid in the event of a claim.

Mike Pickard, head of risk and underwriting at esure car insurance, said: “Fronting is fraud despite many people thinking it is a legitimate way of massaging premiums down with a few white lies. The simple rule is that if you’re deliberately trying to give your insurer the impression of a low risk set of circumstances when you know that the truth is different, you are probably fronting.

“Cases where parents are effectively trying to transfer their own no claim discount to an inexperienced driver on a car they simply don’t drive are fronting, plain and simple. Parents may be tempted to do this to slash the cost of their son or daughter’s car insurance but, if detected, insurers could treat the policy as invalid. Honesty is the best policy when it comes to car insurance.”

The company trains its staff to be on high alert for tell-tale signals of fronting at both at the point of sale and at the claim stage.