Overnight Parking - Why Does It Affect My Insurance?

Car care

4 min read

Taking out car insurance for the first time can be a little daunting, especially when you are getting asked so many questions by your insurance broker. Some of these questions might throw you but they must ask you these to determine your insurance quote.

So if you’re getting fed up of answering the same questions while comparing quotes, it’s important to remember that there are lots of factors at play that affect how much you pay for car insurance, such as your employment status, age, and your driving experience. Your insurance provider will need all of this information in order to give you an accurate quote.

Why does where I park affect my insurance?

Well, parking your car in a safe and secure place overnight is likely to have a positive effect on your premium, whereas parking in a street may have a negative effect on the price you’ll have to pay. Insurers will ask this question because they must consider the risk involved.

Depending on whether your car is stored in a driveway, street or garage, the insurer will consider the likelihood of theft and other factors, to provide you with a quote.

If you park in a driveway overnight, this may be seen by insurers as less risky than parking in the street, as the likelihood of the car being hit by a passing vehicle is reduced. Parking on a street can often put the price of insurance up, as this leaves the car more exposed and at greater risk of being stolen, damaged or vandalised.

That being said, the insurer will also consider the street’s location and postcode, which is yet another influencing factor!

Is there a way to reduce my premium?  

Storing your car in a garage can be seen by some insurers as reducing the risk - and therefore reducing your premium - however, other insurance providers may not see this as a positive, and will consider the probability of your car being knocked by another household vehicle or the fact that in the event of a house burglary, an intruder could gain easy access to your car.

When you declare your parking location at the time of your car insurance renewal or quote, the insurer will assume this is based on where your car is parked the majority of the time. Of course, there will be nights where you will be staying with family, friends or taking a trip and you don’t need to update your insurer each time you do this. However, if you do move house or change your regular location, you should notify your insurer about this.

What happens if I’m not honest about where I park?

As it’s clear to see, there are no hard and fast rules to reduce the cost of your insurance, and each insurer will assess the risk differently. It’s important that you are honest with your insurer when asked about where your car will be stored, as if you are unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of damage or theft, and have told your insurer that your car is stored in a garage when in reality, this is not the case, any claim you make could be invalid, as a result.