New data from
Virgin Money Car Insurance has revealed that 5 year old cars receive the highest number of insurance claims, with 9.6% of claims on the company’s database falling into this category.
According to the study, 40% of insurance claims relate to vehicles that are between three and six years old. These vehicles are responsible for 37% of all
car insurance claims received by Virgin even though they represent only 24% of all the vehicles in use.
Grant Bather, a spokesperson for
Virgin Money Car Insurance said that older cars, whilst not necessarily more dangerous than younger ones, did appear more likely to be involved in accidents leading to insurance claims: "This is not to say that cars five years old are the most dangerous, but that they are more likely to be involved in an incident that leads to a claim being made … Drivers tend to change their car every three to five years and on this evidence they have some justification," he said.
Mr. Bather added a warning that people considering a purchase of a second hand car would be well-advised to make sure the vehicle is road worthy.
