Gone over my mileage on my car insurance, whats the best to do?

[Guide] What happens when you go over mileage on insurance

The amount of miles you drive in an average year is a major component of the overall costs you have to pay on your insurance premiums. Many of us just guess when we’re asked to submit how many miles we have on our forms – but this can have serious consequences if you end up exceeding your annual miles for how much you pay.


In this short guide, we’ll explain how to avoid the situation in the first place, as well as what to do if you have indeed exceeded your limit. We’ll also look at modern insurance providers who closely track your miles to keep your premium in check.

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Why does car insurance mileage matter?

The reason why car insurance providers ask you to provide your mileage is simple. The more often you drive, the more likely you are to potentially have an accident. Someone who barely takes their car out for a spin thus pays a lot less than someone who spend their whole day driving around in their car.

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How to calculate your mileage

As is often said these days, prevention is the best cure. If you can accurately work out your mileage before you calculate your insurance premium, then you won’t have to potentially end up paying more for your insurance than you’d anticipated. This also goes in the other direction – you could be greatly overestimating the amount you drive and thus be paying far too much for your insurance!

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So, how can you calculate your mileage? There are a few options:

• Have a look at your annual MOT certificate. This will show the amount of miles you drove last year, which should be a pretty good indicator of what you’ll drive this year (if you’re going to be generally following the same routine).
• The amount of miles you drove might also be on your car’s service record. While the may not give you the exact annual figure, you could work out the annual figure using a little maths magic.
• Keep track of the miles you drive in a single typical day. You can then multiply this by 365 to get a rough estimate of what you’ll drive in a year.

By taking one of these steps, you’ll prevent yourself from potentially having to pay more money back in the future. It also pays to be honest. If you lie about the amount you drive to get a lower premium, this could lead to your insurance rejecting your claim if you have an accident.

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I’ve exceeded the mileage limit on my car insurance – What do I do?

If you’ve exceeded the yearly miles on your car insurance, the best thing you can do is to inform your insurance provider so that they can update your premium. While this means that you’ll be paying a higher premium in the short term, you’ll be grateful for your honesty if you end up in an accident. If your insurer sees you’ve underestimated your mileage, they are likely to deny your claim.