Generic car insurance thread #4.376
Discussion
I phoned Elephant yesterday to change the address of my policy, was surprised by some of the info I was given... It's more expensive to park your car on your driveway than it is to park it on a public road...
The reason I was given is that it's more likely to get stolen and if a car gets stolen it's likely to be a bigger claim than average. I could accept that, I'm sure any insurance company could trot out any number of statistics to prove why the car and where I park it are the highest possible risk and therefore explain astronomical policies. But isn't my car far more likely to be the victim of a hit and run or of criminal damage than a car parked on my drive? Am I not more likely to make a claim for a car parked on the roadside than in my drive?
Seems to me it's just a way to stiff customers - I'm less likely to make a claim with my driveway-parked car but it's supposedly more likely to be a high claim. b
ks.
The reason I was given is that it's more likely to get stolen and if a car gets stolen it's likely to be a bigger claim than average. I could accept that, I'm sure any insurance company could trot out any number of statistics to prove why the car and where I park it are the highest possible risk and therefore explain astronomical policies. But isn't my car far more likely to be the victim of a hit and run or of criminal damage than a car parked on my drive? Am I not more likely to make a claim for a car parked on the roadside than in my drive?
Seems to me it's just a way to stiff customers - I'm less likely to make a claim with my driveway-parked car but it's supposedly more likely to be a high claim. b
ks.There's a number of reasons
There are many claims for people not paying attention whilst reversing out of their as they have done it everyday for the past however many years and crash into their walls it sound strange but its true where as on a street you are more aware of things around etc etc but at the end of the day its just insurance claim statistics it could change at any time.
There are many claims for people not paying attention whilst reversing out of their as they have done it everyday for the past however many years and crash into their walls it sound strange but its true where as on a street you are more aware of things around etc etc but at the end of the day its just insurance claim statistics it could change at any time.
Seems a strange one - suspect it's more likely to be down to self-selecting samples rather than damage more likely to be caused by the same person.
Who parks on driveways? By definition, people with driveways - which means people who live in the suburbs or country, who drive higher mileages and who have the money for a driveway (and therefore potentially for a nicer car).
London is full of street-parked 15-year-old 1.4 Golfs that don't move for days at a time. If their neighbours have driveways there's probably a daily driven S-Class on them. Result: higher claims for the same postocde for driveway parked cars, even if the individual risk isn't higher.
Who parks on driveways? By definition, people with driveways - which means people who live in the suburbs or country, who drive higher mileages and who have the money for a driveway (and therefore potentially for a nicer car).
London is full of street-parked 15-year-old 1.4 Golfs that don't move for days at a time. If their neighbours have driveways there's probably a daily driven S-Class on them. Result: higher claims for the same postocde for driveway parked cars, even if the individual risk isn't higher.
TSS said:
My insurer wanted to charge £20 more if I kept my S3 in a garage rather than on a driveway. So I keep it on the driveway. Apparently they get a lot of claims from numpties damaging their cars driving in and out of their garages.
I heard that it's because if a car gets nicked from your garage you might not notice for days, reducing the chance of it being recovered. If it's nicked off the drive you might notice sooner. Any truth in that or is it BS?TSS said:
My insurer wanted to charge £20 more if I kept my S3 in a garage rather than on a driveway. So I keep it on the driveway. Apparently they get a lot of claims from numpties damaging their cars driving in and out of their garages.
Had similar on my car - cheaper to insure on driveway than in garage. Can park in the garage, but majority of the time it has to be on the driveway!Its an Aston FFS - course its going to be in the garage every night.
Asked them why it was cheaper NOT in the garage - they didn't know
It might also be down to this.
If your car is parked on the driveway of your house then Mr Thieving, if he can get his little head around this, might make a connection, break into your house and half-inch your keys. If it's parked in the road it could connected to a variety of houses and, therefore, would require a more crowbar-esque set of keys.
As modern cars are so much harder to break into, the former option might well be preferable.
If your car is parked on the driveway of your house then Mr Thieving
, if he can get his little head around this, might make a connection, break into your house and half-inch your keys. If it's parked in the road it could connected to a variety of houses and, therefore, would require a more crowbar-esque set of keys.As modern cars are so much harder to break into, the former option might well be preferable.
Greenwich Ross said:
It might also be down to this.
If your car is parked on the driveway of your house then Mr Thieving, if he can get his little head around this, might make a connection, break into your house and half-inch your keys. If it's parked in the road it could connected to a variety of houses and, therefore, would require a more crowbar-esque set of keys.
As modern cars are so much harder to break into, the former option might well be preferable.
If it's parked on the road, outside a house, then I expect the intelligence level of your average car theif probably doesn't extend beyond thinking it must belong to the house it's parked directly outside of.If your car is parked on the driveway of your house then Mr Thieving
, if he can get his little head around this, might make a connection, break into your house and half-inch your keys. If it's parked in the road it could connected to a variety of houses and, therefore, would require a more crowbar-esque set of keys.As modern cars are so much harder to break into, the former option might well be preferable.
Oakey said:
If it's parked on the road, outside a house, then I expect the intelligence level of your average car theif probably doesn't extend beyond thinking it must belong to the house it's parked directly outside of.
That's true, however, when I lived in Birmingham I could rarely park right outside my house. Often had to park 10/15 houses down the street - so it's unlikely to be linked to my house in that situation.Greenwich Ross said:
It might also be down to this.
If your car is parked on the driveway of your house then Mr Thieving, if he can get his little head around this, might make a connection, break into your house and half-inch your keys. If it's parked in the road it could connected to a variety of houses and, therefore, would require a more crowbar-esque set of keys.
As modern cars are so much harder to break into, the former option might well be preferable.
That's a good theory.If your car is parked on the driveway of your house then Mr Thieving
, if he can get his little head around this, might make a connection, break into your house and half-inch your keys. If it's parked in the road it could connected to a variety of houses and, therefore, would require a more crowbar-esque set of keys.As modern cars are so much harder to break into, the former option might well be preferable.
Most streets that I have seen which don't have driveway parking, are that busy that it would be impossible to work out which car belonged to which property.
Bear in mind when you speak to insurance companies like Elephant, your speaking to a monkey in call centre who does whatever his computer tells him to do, your not speaking to a qualified insurance underwriter who decides what premum should be charged. Chances are he just made up an excuse off the top of his head so he had a reason to charge you the additional premium that popped up on his screen.
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