Unsurprisingly, we know a thing or two (or in this case 5) about traffic accidents. Here, we look at some of the most common car insurance claims and clue you up on how to prevent them.
1) Reverse into your car parking space.
Car parks are the scene for a huge number of claims. Depending on the layout, it can be hard to see what’s going on around you – and as it’s not the open road, it’s not always too obvious who has right of way or which way traffic is supposed to move.
With all that in mind, you should be extra wary when you’re in a car park – especially when pulling out of a space. That’s way easier, if you’re not having to look over your shoulder, past a couple of cranky kids and over the groceries bags piled up in the boot. So make the effort to reverse into your space, and it’ll make things much easier when it’s time to leave.
2) Keep it rolling.
Anyone who’s ever played laser quest knows that a moving target is harder to hit. Likewise, if you’re able to control your speed in such a way that you can avoid coming to a stop, you’re less likely to have a prang. That’s because getting hit from behind after breaking is the most common type of collision.
The key here is looking as far ahead as possible. If you’ve got your eye on what’s going on at an upcoming roundabout well in advance, you might be able to slow things down so that by the time you reach it, it’s all clear for you to move through without needing to stop. The same goes for junctions, traffic lights and stop start traffic in pedestrian-heavy areas.
Basically if you’re not driving too quickly, you shouldn’t have to break too quickly – or even at all.
3) Keep your distance (and you’ll keep your windscreen intact).
One of the most common car insurance claims is for damage to the windscreens – usually caused by pesky bits of debris (such as pebbles and stones) getting flung off the wheels of the car in front.
Getting hit by something like this may just feel like bad luck. After all, it flew into you – not the other way around. The truth is, these mishaps are usually down to the driving habits. If you’re consistently keeping a safe stopping distance from the car in front, you’re unlikely to be hit by anything it kicks up.
It (hopefully) goes without saying that you’ll also be less likely to suffer a rear-end collision if they have to emergency stop.
4) Learn to love the motorway.
Driving down the motorway can be a little boring. Alright, it can be very boring. So boring that grown adults will resort to playing ‘I spy with my little eye’ just to help the time pass. But, while you might be in danger of running out of things to spy, you’re at much lower risk of having an accident.
Even with the higher speed limits, motorways are statistically the safest roads you can drive on. Yes, winding country lanes may look pretty, but they can also be pretty dangerous. In fact, there are ten times more deaths on rural roads than motorways. (And roads in built up areas also see a lot more accidents).
On top of all this, motorway driving is more fuel efficient (especially if you keep to 70mph) because there’s not much stopping and starting. As we’re all looking after the pennies these days, that’s another great reason to keep off the back roads whenever you can.
5) Avoid common car insurance claims with a few extra safety precautions.
We know that you’re less likely to have a claim when you’re not driving. That’s the whole idea behind our innovative pay-by-mile car insurance. That said, outside of Hollywood action sequences, criminals generally prefer targeting parked cars. Here’s a bunch of things you can do to put them off:
Avoiding common car insurance claims is a good way of getting cheaper insurance. If you’re not a high mileage driver, you might also save by going for a pay-by-mile policy. Why not take a moment to get a quick quote and see?
