£12.7m worth of cars stolen each year as motorists leave vehicles unattended on cold mornings

Thursday, 03 February 2011

• Half (47 per cent)** of motorists admit to leaving their car unattended whilst it warms up
• 4.8m** UK motorists are unaware that their insurance could be invalidated by their insurer by doing so
• According to swiftcover.com data, the first quarter of each year sees the largest number of stolen vehicle claims due to leaving them to warm up, every year

As another cold snap approaches, swiftcover.com warns that more than 2,000 car thefts happen each year as a result of motorists walking away from their cars while they warm up on cold mornings – equating to £12.7 million* in losses. The online insurer went on to reveal that of swiftcover.com policyholders alone, cars totalling more than £170,000 were stolen in just one cold snap in December 2010.

swiftcover.com’s research shows that almost half (47 per cent) of UK motorists would return to their house to collect something, whilst leaving their car unlocked with the engine running to warm the car up. However, this is a practice that many motorists (80 per cent) accept could void their car insurance if the vehicle was to be stolen. Furthermore, a staggering 27,000 cars have been left alone to warm up for as long as ten minutes in the winter.

Robin Reames, claims director at swiftcover.com said: “Leaving a car with keys in the ignition provides a perfect opportunity for thieves, and we as motorists are especially likely to do this at this time of year. People have an ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude and think that it’s fine to quickly nip into the house. However in reality, it can and does happen anywhere in the UK.”

Analysis of swiftcover.com’s historic data showed that in recent years, the first quarter (January to March) provides the most claims relating to stolen vehicles which have been left to warm up.

“The first quarter of every year unfortunately sees a dramatic rise in this type of crime, and it happens even in the most prestigious neighbourhoods. It’s likely that insurers will not cover a car left with the keys in the ignition; however, we do look at these types of claims on a case-by-case basis. That said, almost five million motorists are unaware that their insurance policy does not cover them if their car is stolen while unattended with the engine running.”

swiftcover.com is warning motorists that insurers may invalidate their car insurance if a policyholder was to walk away from their car while the keys are left in the ignition. It urges motorists to factor in extra time on cold mornings to sit in their vehicle while they wait for the engine to warm up. This will dramatically reduce the potential threat of theft while maintaining eligibility for cover.
-ENDS-

About swiftcover.com’s research:
* More than 2,000 cars stolen each year due to leaving them to warm up in the winter months. According to the research undertaken by Lake Market Research of more than 1,000 UK motorists, the average value of a car is almost £6,000
** 1,048 respondents participated in the Lake Market Research survey in November 2010

Notes to Editors:
For press enquiries please contact:
Luke O’Mahony or Sean Williams
Brazil (PR agency for swiftcover.com)
020 7785 7383
swiftcover@agencybrazil.com

About swiftcover:
 

Based in Cobham, Surrey and employing over 1,000 people, www.swiftcover.com started trading in June 2005 and was born out of a desire to revolutionise the general insurance market.

swiftcover.com offers car, home, travel and pet insurance online, and is Britain's only insurance company without call centres, which means that the cost savings can be passed directly onto the customer and premiums are kept low. In 2008 swiftcover.com featured as the cheapest insurance quote on the comparison website moneysupermarket.com more often than any other insurer.

This powerful operating model combined with successful marketing and competitive pricing has proven to be a tremendous success. In 2008 swiftcover.com achieved over half a million live policies and in May 2009 sold their one millionth policy. They are considered to be the fastest-growing insurer in the UK.

In 2007, AXA UK acquired swiftcover.com. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Insurance UK PLC which forms part of AXA Group.

About AXA:
 

AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection. AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. For full year 2009, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 90.1 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 3.9 billion. AXA had Euro 1,014 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2009.

The AXA ordinary share is listed on compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISIN FR0000120628 – Bloomberg: CS FP – Reuters: AXAF.PA).

Our previous company performance is not a guide to how we may perform in the future.
Any opinions expressed in this media communication are made as at the date of this publication but are subject to change without notice.
 

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