Of those undertaking the school run, either driving children to school or nursery, 15%⁽¹⁾ admit to having driven a child who was not secured in the appropriately safety seating, be that seat belt, booster seat or child car seat.  Research commissioned by Sainsbury’s Car Insurance reveals that over 1.6 million people, or 8% of school run drivers, have had an accident whilst on the “run” in the last five years⁽¹⁾.

Joanne Mallon, Sainsbury’s Car Insurance Manager said: “By highlighting the dangers of the school run, we’re hoping more people will strap their young passengers in securely. The school run can be very stressful for drivers. Busy roads, children being noisy in the back seat, and the worry of being late for school or work can all lead to stress that can affect people’s driving. What is most concerning about our findings is that a significant number of people are currently not ensuring their children are properly secured in the car.”

Men are more likely to have an accident on the school run, with 9% of male school run drivers having done so in the last five years against 7% of women. Worryingly, men are also much more likely to drive a child who is not appropriately secured, with 18% of male school run drivers admitting to this compared to 12% of females. The most common type of accident admitted to, involved another car, with 5% of all school run drivers having been involved in this type of collision.

In terms of location, Londoners on the school run are more likely to have an accident than anyone else, with 15.2% of school run drivers having had an accident going to or from school in the last five years. Those from the North East / Yorkshire & Humberside are almost as likely to crash, with 12.5% of school run drivers having had an accident, but those in the Midlands being the least accident-prone, with only 5%.

The research indicates that a fear of lateness is the biggest cause of erratic driving on the school run. Thirteen per cent of all school run drivers blame fear of being late for work, school, or an appointment as having made them drive with less care than normal. This is followed by traffic congestion (7%), and being distracted by children in the car (6%). Only 4% of all school run drivers say they have driven more erratically because of tiredness at the end of the day.

More accidents happen on the morning school run than the afternoon one, with 41% of those who have had an accident claiming it was in the morning compared to 34% in the afternoon. Five per cent said they have had an accident on both the morning and afternoon school runs, and 20% couldn’t remember. Women are particularly likely to have an accident in the morning rather than the afternoon, with 50% of the female school run crashers having done so in the morning against 37% in the afternoon.

Sainsbury’s Car Insurance offers motorists an extensive range of cover and benefits. This includes a courtesy car when using one of its recommended repairers (comprehensive cover only) and a no claim discount of 70% if you take out a policy and have not made a claim in the past five years, rising to 75% after a further five years’ claim free driving with Sainsbury’s Car Insurance. It is also one of only a few providers to offer new for old replacement child car seats after an accident as a standard feature of its comprehensive policy, even when there is no visible damage, as well as support and compensation if you’re a victim of car jacking or road rage⁽²⁾.

• ⁽¹⁾ 2016 GB adults aged 16-64 were interviewed online by TNS between 1^st - 7^th April 2008. The sample has been weighted to represent the adult population of Great Britain aged 16-64.
• ⁽²⁾ Terms and conditions apply.

Brits who are thinking of taking a driving holiday in Europe this May Bank Holiday are at risk of doing so underinsured.

moneysupermarket.com is warning drivers to double check their motor cover before hitting the roads in Europe. Research by the price comparison site found well over a third of drivers (39 per cent) are unaware their motor insurance may be automatically downgraded from comprehensive to third party when driving on the Continent.

Five of the UK’s ten leading insurers automatically reduce cover when policyholders travel to Europe. Drivers with motor insurance from Barclays, Direct Line, esure and Swiftcover are most at risk; these policies reduce your existing cover to third party only in Europe.

Richard Mason, director of insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said: “If you normally have comprehensive car insurance, it will come as a shock if you are with one of those insurers who will downgrade your cover for driving in Europe. While it may be in the small print of your policy, our research shows many motorists are unaware of this.

“Every insurer must provide the minimum level of third party cover in all EU countries. So, if there is any damage to your own car, you will be left to foot the bill. Anyone with a holiday home in Europe or who regularly drives in the continent will do well to look for an insurer that automatically provides the same level of cover throughout the EU.

“Drivers really need to be alert to this trick of the trade. Some motorists may be happy only having third party cover while abroad, however those who aren’t should look to pay to upgrade their cover. A crash is a horrible experience, but being abroad, not speaking the local dialect, and finding yourself uninsured, could turn your idyllic break into a holiday from hell.”

Cover in Europe among the UK’s leading insurers

Quote will differ due to circumstances. Cost is based on 2 weeks in France, driving a Ford Focus LX.

* Research conducted by Opinium Research in an online survey of 2,001 UK adults between 12 and 15 February 2008. All information weighted to nationally representative criteria

Nearly two thirds (62%) of people in the UK drive up to twenty miles on Sundays, compared with a mere 14% who prefer to stay at home, according to research by Confused.com – the UK’s leading insurance price comparison site.Those who live in the largest cities in the UK seem the most keen to get away from it all at weekends, with more than two thirds (69%) of Sheffield drivers heading for the hills on Sundays, and a whopping 85% of those who live in Belfast escaping the ‘Big Smoke’. In fact, no Belfast drivers actually stay put on Sundays, choosing instead to drive elsewhere.

Smaller cities appear to be more appealing at weekends, with nearly one in five (19% and 18% respectively) making the most of their surroundings in Cambridge and Leicester. Yet it is Swansea drivers who are the most content with their city, with 21% staying put on Sundays.

Debra Williams, managing director at Confused.com, said:

“The halcyon days of Sunday drivers appear to have been revived with city-dwellers, in particular, embarking on a UK-wide exodus on the day of rest. Although hitting the roads on Sundays is probably more indicative of going to Aunt Betty’s for tea than of glamorous 1940s Hollywood-style country drives, it cannot be denied that the UK’s love affair with the car continues unabated.

“With so many cars on the road, however, it is important for drivers to be as vigilant on weekends as they would be in the week. Planning your route, allowing extra time and taking into consideration elements such as the great British weather, should result in less accidents and a reduction in convictions which will, in turn, help to reduce premiums.”

Convertible cars cost an average of 60 pence extra to insure per week despite the general consensus that they are far more costly than non-convertibles, says Confused.com- the UK’s leading car insurance comparison site.On average, a convertible car costs just £32* more to insure over the course of a year than a non-convertible, with the lowest price difference being a mere £11**. However, before rushing out and buying a flashy new drop-top it may be worth considering the fact that the UK enjoys just 55 days of sun overall- or just 15% of the year!***

While many drivers may be initially wary of the perceived higher insurance premiums often associated with owning a convertible, due to horror stories of soft-top slashing and items being stolen from easily-accessed glove compartments, figures show that there really is very little difference in premium prices between convertibles and non-convertibles.

Debra Williams, managing director, Confused.com comments:

“Like most of life’s pleasures, many drivers will find that the desire to own a swanky new car will outweigh the practical concerns and perceived costs involved. However, car insurance is becoming increasingly competitive so whether you are insuring an old banger or a sleek sports car, it is vital to shop around for the best deal in order to make sure that you aren’t paying over the odds for your car insurance.

“As long as drivers use their common sense and take precautions such as not storing valuables in their car or making sure that their car is parked somewhere safe and secure, there is no reason why they cannot enjoy the benefits of cheaper car insurance when buying a convertible, even if drivers can’t make the most of putting the top down every day in the UK!”

New ‘protection for life’ means those who pay to protect their no claim discount level will keep it safe for the life of their policy¹ regardless of claims made

From tomorrow (Sunday 20 April), esure car insurance will be replacing its standard no claim discount protection with ‘protection for life’ at no extra cost - giving drivers a guaranteed discount level regardless of any claims made throughout the life of their policy with the company¹.

According to research from esure², many drivers don’t understand that paying to protect their valuable no claim discount comes with certain caveats and it isn’t as protected as they might think.  In fact, 37 per cent of drivers are not aware that there is usually a set limit to the number of claims they can make on their policy before their discount protection is overridden, reducing their no claim discount dramatically.  Insurers may allow no more than one ‘at fault’ claim in the first year and no more than two over three years, rather than unlimited claims.

Unavoidable incidents can affect any driver at any time - no matter what their driving ability - such as vandalism, animal damage, car park scrapes, falling masonry or trees, and so on.  ‘Protection for life’ will give safe drivers peace of mind that an unfortunate incident on the road, as well as standard ‘fault’ accidents and thefts, will not cause them to exceed the limits of standard protection and so ‘step down’ the no claim discount scale.

This is not just available to new customers - existing esure policyholder customers will benefit from this enhanced policy benefit.  Every policyholder who has already opted for standard discount protection will automatically be upgraded to the new ‘protection for life’ cover from 20 April.  The benefits will be applied retrospectively to current protected policies so that claims that may have already occurred since last renewal won’t affect customers’ future discount levels.

Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at esure said:

“Our ‘protection for life’ will give peace of mind to drivers with us - and those who subsequently join us - that their protected no claim discount level remains safe even if they’re unlucky enough to suffer more than the occasional claim.

“We have long believed there are millions of drivers who make a single claim and then find their discount reduced because of a second incident that may be beyond their control.  Thousands of cars each year are damaged by animals, falling roof tiles and vandals - where there’s no other insurer to pay up - as well as the millions of usual bumps and scrapes.

“Drivers should check the small print for the no claim discount protection of their current policy to see how protected they would actually be if the unexpected did happen.  We believe that safe drivers who have earned their maximum no claim discount from driving claim free deserve to be fully protected.”

Although it only costs motorists a small additional premium to protect their no claim discount, 38 per cent of eligible drivers with over 4 years of claim free driving decide not to pay to protect it.  These drivers are at risk of losing a proportion of the no claim discount that they’ve built up if they are unfortunate enough to incur an ‘at fault’ claim.

In fact, a third (32 per cent) of eligible drivers have fallen into the ‘it won’t happen to me’ trap and cite the fact that they’ve never had an accident so don’t think it’s worth paying for, as a reason for not protecting their valuable no claim discount.  Yet many claims aren’t related to driver ability at all and can’t be avoided.

To help those drivers not yet eligible to protect their no claim discount who are building up their history of claim free driving, from 20 April neither vandalism³ nor an accident with an uninsured driver⁴ - both relatively common claims - will result in a loss of no claim discount with esure.

¹ Subject to continuing eligibility and your policy remaining in force.  This does not protect your premium from going up.

² ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 2006 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 20^th and 24^th March 2008. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information at www.icmresearch.co.uk.

³ Vandalism claims will not affect a policyholder’s no claim discount as long as the incident has been reported to the police and has a crime reference number. Does not include damage by another vehicle.

⁴ Uninsured driver claims will not affect a policyholder’s no claim discount as long as the customer is not at fault and those responsible were identified.

The Highway Code was first introduced 77 years ago this week, but research by online car insurance expert elephant.co.uk reveals 34% of drivers are happy to ignore a number of rules of the road, with men flouting traffic laws more often than women.elephant.co.uk surveyed 1,800 motorists and a third admitted to breaking a number of traffic laws including driving without a seatbelt, driving through red light and not stopping at pedestrian crossings.  The two rules most commonly broken are not using indicators when turning, and parking in restricted areas. 17% of people admit they don’t always use their indicators and 7% admit they ignore parking laws.

elephant.co.uk managing director, Brian Martin said, “There are few motoring issues that anger people as much as parking and it’s clear that many motorists often ignore parking rules and just park where they want to.  Perhaps the parking laws that will be introduced in the Autumn whereby drivers can be charged using CCTV footage might stop more of them breaking these rules.”

Another rule from the Highway Code ignored by motorists is the ban on using a mobile phone while driving. Worryingly, although 91% of motorists said they agree with the ban, around a quarter of motorists admit they have used their phone while driving.  21% more men than women admitted to dialling when driving.

Brian continues, “Men seem to be the main culprits with 39% more men than women admitting to breaking the rules, but despite this they are still quick to criticise other drivers and tend to think of themselves as faultless. The results showed that 61% of men think they are better drivers than the average motorist, with only 41% of women thinking the same.

“More men also claim they would pass their driving test if they sat it today - two thirds compared to just over half of women.  It sounds like over-confidence to me as they would certainly fail if they ignore these traffic laws during their test.”

One in four British motorists (26 per cent) admit they’ve lied on an insurance application - meaning their cover could be worthless - according to new research from insurance.co.uk.

The research reveals a widespread habit amongst the nation at large for fabricating details in insurance applications in an effort to cut costs - with the catalogue of lies ranging from the seemingly innocent to the more severe. One in ten pretend their vehicle is parked in a more secure area than it actually is, while one in twenty are less than truthful about the distances they drive, the value of their car and the reasons they use it.  A small, but worrying, percentage (1 per cent) are upfront about the fact they have lied about their address, penalty points, or other serious criminal convictions.

The study also provided an interesting insight into the nation’s moral sensibilities. Despite the fact that so many admitted to lying, almost the entire nation (98 per cent) said they believed themselves to be honest individuals.   When asked to rank the severity of various offences, almost half (44 per cent) put insurance fraud on a par with ‘pinching a chocolate bar’ and ‘travelling without a valid ticket’.

Steve Grainger, Head of insurance.co.uk said “Lying to an insurer is often considered to be a ‘victimless crime’, but this is far from the truth.

“Many motorists would never dream of illegally driving without insurance, but they seem to be blissfully unaware that entering inaccurate information on a motor insurance application could make their policy worthless, leaving themselves and those around them at considerable risk.

“Although it’s natural to want to get the cheapest quote you can, this should never be done at the expense of cover. By using a comparison service such as ours, consumers can relax in the knowledge that they will be able to find a competitive quote, whatever their personal circumstances.”

The research revealed that men are the most deceitful of the sexes. Whilst women are more likely to tell ‘white lies’ to parents, partners and children, men are more likely to test their luck when speaking to their insurance company, the taxman or even the police.

Younger drivers (aged 16 - 24) are the worst offenders, with a third admitting to lying to their motor insurer. 1 in 5 (23 per cent) said they had lied about where they park their car overnight, 1 in 7 (15 per cent) over how much their car is worth, 1 in 8 (13 per cent) about how frequently they drive and 1 in 9 (11 per cent) about what they use their car for.

Topping the list of dishonest drivers are owners of ‘executive’ and ‘hot hatchback’ cars - particularly those coloured gold and white! Those living in Brighton and Birmingham rate themselves as being four times more dishonest than the average Brit.

Premium hikes widely predicted for both car and home insurance because of increasing costs and the aftermath of last year’s flooding are not being realised, the latest benchmark AA British Insurance Premium Index reveals.

• After a year of increases that have added nearly 6 per cent to the average annual premium quoted for comprehensive car insurance, the Index recorded a slight fall. It now stands at £682, just £3 less than at the end of 2007 but £37 more than this time last year.
• Similarly, the first quarter of 2008 shows average quoted premium for buildings cover remaining at about £209 while contents insurance rose by just 1per cent to £129. The average premium for combined buildings and contents cover, recorded for the first time in the AA study, has fallen by £4 to £293.
• Andrew Strong, CEO of AA Insurance, says: “A recent Datamonitor report suggested that the car insurance industry could become profitable by the end of 2009 - but we calculate that an annual premium increase of 20 per cent would be needed to achieve that. The latest AA Index shows that this is a far from realistic expectation.
• “Similarly, speculation that home insurance premiums would rocket because of last year’s floods was clearly wrong. But I do expect premiums to continue rising over the remainder of the year.”

Car premiums coasting

Car insurance premiums levelled off during the first quarter - reflecting the pattern of 2007 although the trend is upward. “March is a peak period for car insurance sales with many companies holding rates to gain market share,” says Andrew Strong.

• “But insurers continue to be squeezed between increasing costs such as legal expenses and personal injury claims, and competitive pressure. For every £100 taken in premiums, the industry shells out £112 in claims,” he points out. “If premiums don’t continue to rise at a realistic rate, there will be a point when large premium increases become inevitable. That would unhelpful for customers and will damage the reputation of the industry.”
• The Shoparound Index for comprehensive insurance (an average of the cheapest three premiums for each Index risk) also fell, by just 1.2 per cent to £459.44.

Car insurance at a glance

• Average comprehensive car insurance premiums fell 0.5% to £681.93 (£685.29 in previous quarter). The Shoparound premium fell by 1.2% from £464.83 to £459.44.
• Average TPFT car insurance premiums fell 0.9% to £838.50 (£846.28 in previous quarter). The Shoparound premium rose 1.6% to £549.35, from £540.69.

One in six drivers have been victims of road rage incidents in the past 12 months, new research from MoneyExpert.com* shows.

More than 7.4 million motorists have been involved in confrontations with other drivers with younger drivers the most likely to be on the receiving end of other road users’ anger, the independent financial comparison website says.

The survey found that nearly 300,000 drivers had their cars damaged as a result of road rage confrontations - graphically illustrating the need for insurance. According to the RAC Foundation some ten per cent of drivers have been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver.

Several motor insurers such as Sainsbury’s Bank, which pays up to £1,000 compensation if drivers are assaulted, offer cover for road rage as part of their standard policies while others such as women-only insurer Sheila’s Wheels provide counselling services.

Sean Gardner of MoneyExpert.com, said: “Most of us will have lost our tempers while stuck in traffic and can sympathise with the sense of frustration felt by other drivers.

“But any sympathy goes out of the window for drivers who take out their anger on others. Shouting and swearing at other motorists is bad enough but damaging other drivers’ cars is beyond the pale.

“Our study did not thankfully find any evidence of physical assault but that is perhaps more down to luck than anything else. The fact that one in six of us has suffered from road rage is worrying. And of course many of us may be guilty of road rage ourselves.”

MoneyExpert.com estimates that around one in twenty fully comprehensive car insurance policies have a specific allowance for personal injury caused by road rage. However there are often exceptions and caveats, such as whether you caused the altercation and whether you are related to your assailant.

The most common form of road rage reported by motorists is tailgating - driving too close to another car - or other forms of aggressive driving. Around three-quarters of those who have suffered road rage in the past year were tailgated.

Half of the road rage incidents reported by motorists resulted in verbal confrontation while four per cent saw cars being damaged.

Around 16 per cent of motorists say they have suffered road rage in the past year - that rises to 19 per cent of 18 to 34-year-old motorists. Drivers aged 55 or over are least likely to be victims.

Drivers in the North of England are more likely to be road rage victims with 18 per cent reporting incidents while just 12 per cent of motorists in London have been victims.

* Online Research carried out by YouGov who interviewed 2,125 GB adults (18+) between 31^st March and 2^nd April 2008. Grossed up using ONS statistics on no. of households and adults in Great Britain.

More than 3 in 4 (77%) people living in Cardiff cite driving as one of the rare opportunities which they get for me-time, according to Confused.com – the UK’s leading insurance price comparison site.Research carried out by Confused.com found that while only 5% dwell on their love life and friends when in their cars, a whopping 43% focus on their problems, work and money.

People from Aberystwyth seem almost burden-free in comparison, with nearly 62% claiming that they do not think about anything at all when they are in their cars. In addition, not one person surveyed claimed to dwell on problems or work, although 15% admitted to thinking about family.

Debra Williams, managing director, Confused.com comments:

“It is interesting that a huge proportion of drivers only get the chance to enjoy valuable me-time when they are out and about in their cars. Our research shows that the majority of people in Wales use their cars as havens where they can dwell on their problems, work, money, their love-lives and families – especially if they are based in Cardiff!

“Cars are becoming increasingly integral to people’s lives. As a result, it is imperative that these already burdened drivers do not have even more to worry about when it comes to finding the cheapest car insurance. Price comparison services are specifically designed to help consumers find the best deals available on the market, so that they do not find themselves out of pocket when applying for car insurance.”