A Quarter of Drivers Admit Causing Accidental Car Parking Damage

A study of 2,000 drivers by the AA assessing their experiences in supermarket car parks found that more than half reported damage to their vehicles, while one in four drivers admitted to accidentally causing damage to another car. 

Unsurprisingly, car damage and dings were a concern for 92% of the people participating in the survey. 

It all goes to show the potential value of SMART insurance, which covers the cost of repairing the type of minor car damage that is all too common.  

The research revealed the lengths that people will go to in order to avoid those dreaded incidents: 

• 11% park over two spaces in a bid to prevent dents (recent reports suggest that car park operators may start fining people for such an approach, which damages their income). 
• 18% deliberately park next to the flashiestmost valuable car they can find, in the hope they’ll be careful with their own doors. 
• 7% had pulled into a trolley bay for added assurance. 
• 53% chose to park in the furthest away space. 
• And 23% would be ‘very interested’ in paying for a space with a ‘dent-free guarantee’ rather than risk scrapes from others more careless than themselves. 

The research also shared some fascinating insights into drivers’ views on ‘damage management’ 

• 54% said they would feel more confident knowing that if they did get into a scrape, someone else would deal with the hassle for them. 
• 11% of drivers were unsure about where to start when making a claim. 
• 44% would be annoyed at all the administration required to get a dent mended. 
• Just 28% would be very confident in knowing the steps to take to fix a damaged car. 

If making a claim meant using their car insurance to pay for the repairs, then it’s worth pointing out that with SMART Insurance to cover such damage, a driver’s no claims bonus or future renewal costs would be unaffected by such incidents and with AutoProtect, the business’ mobile UK-wide Shine! repair network will make the repairs at a customer’s home or office to minimise hassle. 

Hassle, time, and cost are all saved, and any future end-of-finance agreement repair costs are taken care of – it's why SMART Insurance lives up to its name.