09 December 2009 / by Rachael Stiles
Christmas shoppers should protect themselves with car insurance for when they’re shopping and opportunistic thieves cash in on cars full of presents, Virgin Money has warned.
They should be especially on their guard on December 19, the last Saturday before Christmas, which is the worst day of the month for car insurance claims according to Virgin Money car insurance, with 40 per cent more claims than the average day.
Car insurance experts believe it is people taking advantage of late night shopping hours and the higher number of presents in people’s cars that are to blame for making the weekend before Christmas the most attractive to thieves.
Grant Bather, spokesman for Virgin Money car insurance, said: “Christmas is a time for giving but maybe drivers should be giving the car a miss on December 19 if they want to keep their no-claims bonus.
“With more drivers on the road and cars potentially loaded up with presents it can be a dangerous time for claims. However it is good to see that Christmas Day and Boxing Day are safe times to be on the road.”
But even thieves have a day off sometimes, the analyses shows, with Christmas Day and Boxing Day being the safest days – the chances of making a car insurance claim as a result of theft on Christmas Day is a seventh of the usual day, while Boxing Day claims are less than half of the average.
Mr Bather comments: “With the start of many sales on Boxing Day and people travelling to see families you might have expected a spike in claims but in fact it’s the second quietest day of the month.”
The worst day of the whole year for car insurance claims is October 19 – the day the clocks go back – and the highest proportion of claims occur in the final three months of the year, accounting for 30 per cent of all claims, Virgin Money’s research shows.
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