Car sharing helping to lower motor expenses

Car Insurance - Car sharing helping to lower motor expenses - 22/09/2008

As the cost of maintain a car continues to spiral upwards, British motorists are apparently resorting to car sharing, according to the car insurance provider, the AA Insurance.

According to the firm, 47 per cent of British motorists have thought about car sharing, however it is 11 per cent car drivers that actually do so, more than once a week.

Among the 5.5 million motorists that share a car on the roads, 60 per cent stated that their reason for doing so was to lower the expenses that they spend on driving, while 34 per cent cited the effects of carbon emission as their reason for car sharing.

However, AA insurance also found that 73 per cent of those who car share, did not check the eligibility of car sharing on their policies, when they go away on business trips. It was noted that some business trips may cause the car insurance policy to be updated.

Ian Crowder of AA Insurance stated that 14 per cent of people car share to get to business meetings, which may require a policy upgrade to "business use".

The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) recently said it was "not surprised" that inner cities had especially high numbers of uninsured drivers. Spokeswoman Lorraine Preston said “There was a greater concentration of automobiles in such areas, adding that driving uninsured carries "major unacceptable costs.”