UK car owners are needlessly claiming on their car insurance because they lack basic knowledge of their vehicles. According to a survey of 1,500 Swinton car insurance customers, 36% of drivers do not ‘know their vehicle.’ The poll found that 29% of drivers did not know how to change their tyre and a further 20% did not know their correct tyre pressure. A staggering 9% did not even know how to open their bonnet.
According to Swinton all drivers should have enough basic knowledge to:
1. Fill tyres to correct pressure
2. Change a tyre
3. Top up oil
4. Top up water
5. Replace a windscreen wiper
Steve Chelton, Insurance Development Manager at Swinton said: “The results of this survey are quite concerning. All drivers should have at least basic knowledge of their vehicles and should not rely on other people to carry out maintenance work such as filling up tyres and topping up oil.
“If drivers had a better understanding of their vehicles they probably wouldn’t make so many unnecessary claims which can lead to an increase in car insurance premiums.”
If this survey is to be believed then 135 people out of the 1500 questioned admitted to not knowing how to open the bonnet of their car. If you drive a car and presumably passed your driving test is that something you’re going to admit to? Well either the problem is far greater then this survey suggests or certain insurance companies marketing departments have got way too much time on theri hands!
If you know any car drivers who don’t know how to open the bonnets on their cars we’d like to hear from you.