Parking your car in a garage overnight could make it more expensive to insure than leaving it outside your home, new data has shown.
Comparison site Go Compare reviewed car insurance policies bought through it between May and July of this year and found that the average insurance premium for drivers who kept their cars in a locked garage was £710, compared with £656 for vehicles left in other areas of the home.
According to the research, the difference was more obvious in ‘fire and theft’ policies. The average third-party fire and theft policy came in at £1,053 for those who parked their car in a locked garage, contrasting the £875 someone who parked their car elsewhere around the house would pay.
While keeping a car on the drive is better for insurance premiums than using a locked garage – costing £627 on average, or £85 less than a garage-user would pay – it’s still better to keep a car in a garage compared with parking on the public road outside your home. Drivers will pay £729 to keep their car on the road outside their house or £741 in a residential car park.
Tom Banks, car insurance expert at Go Compare, said: “There are various reasons why keeping your car in a garage may result in a more expensive premium. Some insurers may feel garages can pose their own security risks. If the garage is connected to your property, your car could get taken in the event of a home break-in, while if the garage is unconnected, you may be unable to hear the thief entering your car.
“Insurers may also feel the car is more likely to be damaged if you keep it in a garage. For instance, there could be a greater chance of bumps and scrapes when trying to fit today’s larger cars into small garages. Items being stored in the garage, like a toolbox, could also fall onto the vehicle and damage it.”
However, Go.Compare’s data shows a falling number of people using their garages for parking, dropping by 28 per cent between 2018 and 2022. In contrast, the number of policies for people keeping their car in a work car park overnight has doubled in the same period, with a 38 per cent increase being seen for drivers keeping their vehicles in a secure car park. However, the most popular parking space remains a home driveway, with 60 per cent of policies covering this area overnight.