Auto insurance claims '40 per cent higher in December'
AA Insurance urges car owners to take extra care as the freezing temperatures set in.
Auto insurance customers have been warned that 40 per cent more claims occur during December than in other months.A study by leading firm AA Insurance found that the sizeable rise in the cases it witnesses can largely be explained by the hazardous conditions brought about by snow and black ice.
However, the company also noted that a number of drivers are now receiving a different type of shock, and one which cannot be easily resolved by insurers.
Noticing a scrape or a dent on a car is never an enjoyable experience, but AA Insurance explained that the perpetrators are becoming increasingly devious by failing to leave a note to detail the incident.
"There's no worse Christmas gift than finding someone has left a dent or scrape on your car and not left a note to admit it," said Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance.
"I would appeal to the conscience of drivers who do accidentally collide with a parked or abandoned vehicle to leave the best Christmas card possible - a note with your contact details so that insurers can sort out the claims."
Mr Douglas also implored auto insurance customers not to leave their cars unattended with their engines running in the freezing weather.
"Insurers almost always reject these claims because theft of an unattended vehicle left open with the keys in it is specifically excluded from policies," he added.
Car owners are advised to avoid being targeted by opportunistic thieves in this way by simply using de-icers and scrapers to remove the snow and ice from their windscreens and windows.
Last week, the Post Office claimed that Britons who have been neglecting their cars this year as a way of saving the pennies should not skimp on auto insurance during the winter months.
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