By Bob Weston
Honda, Toyota and Nissan were among the top 10 car brands known to be involved in theft, fraud or loss according to research conducted by insurance comparison website comparethemarket.com, as vehicle warranty fatigue sets in.
The research, which was conducted in partnership with insurer Hastings Direct, showed that 0.43% of cars had been reported as stolen or stolen.
This data shows how little we all know about the cover of our vehicles, and how it is so terribly out of date. Auto insurance typically offers comprehensive, non-compound insurance at a high premium, which promises to cover breakdown, theft, theft and damage to your car, if it is ever claimed on. This insurance will also usually offer roadside assistance.
The car firm you choose needs to be able to demonstrate that there are not a range of other types of cover available to you, covering things such as fire, theft, or the business of motoring (although Honda and Nissan seem to opt for a mix of all the above). This means your insurer has to employ an ‘infill’ clause in its guarantee to you, under which it covers a much wider range of problems than typically covered by comprehensive insurance.
Vinayak Duvvuri, Head of Home Insurance at Hastings Direct said “There have been years of poor publicity surrounding fraud, but the latest research shows that people still don’t have a clear understanding of the type of cover they’re getting with their motor insurance. New data from comparison website comparethemarket.com has revealed that even though the average number of claims claims has decreased over the last two years, there are still so many areas that consumers can save when they shop around. From crash damage to stolen cars, people need to be armed with this information when they shop around, otherwise they will be unable to make informed choices when selecting their car insurance policy.”
New crime data from the Office of National Statistics revealed that the rate of UK criminals committing insurance fraud has risen 19% from 527,000 in 2010 to 629,000 in 2011. Of the crimes committed, fraud was the largest category accounting for 43% of offences.
© The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Limited 2015