In 2006, 11 per cent** of motorists claimed that they had been the victim of car vandalism.  In 2007 it had risen to 30 per cent*, resulting in an estimated total bill of £659 million*** for damage caused – a rise of over £100 million on the previous year.

Once again, the most common acts of vandalism against cars are scratched paintwork and/or being ‘keyed’, affecting 43 per cent of victims, followed by damaged wing mirrors (23 per cent) and smashed windows (21 per cent).

The majority of car vandals strike at dusk or after dark, with two thirds (63 per cent) of victims having discovered that damage had been caused during this time. However, street lighting proved no deterrent, as a staggering 49 per cent of victims’ cars were targeted while parked on a well-lit road outside their own home or even on their own driveway.

Going unrecorded

Despite the apparent rise of car vandalism, the official records may not show the true scale, as drivers shy away from reporting it to the police.  In total, nearly eight and a half million (58%) of all victims over the last twenty years have not reported the most recent incident. This is because they did not feel there was enough evidence to bring the perpetrator to justice (49 per cent of those not reporting the incident), or the extent of the damage was fairly minor and not worth making a fuss about (35 per cent).

Over three quarters (77 per cent) of all victims did not make a claim on their insurance for any damage caused, with 59 per cent imagining that the value of the repairs did not warrant making one.  Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) were concerned about losing their No Claims Discount.

Tony Chilcott, Head of Car Insurance at Direct Line, comments: “Car vandalism is a crime which often goes unreported as many victims believe that doing so is a fruitless and frustrating exercise. Official figures show that vandalism overall is a growing crime, with a 5 per cent increase on the previous year**** but, as our research shows, many acts of car vandalism go unreported, meaning that the actual number will be significantly higher.

“As a direct response to the increase in car vandalism, Direct Line will preserve its customers No Claims Discount if they are the victim of vandalism.  It is not fair that victims of crime should suffer further through the loss of their No Claims Discount and so our policy now guards against that.”

Direct Line’s policy will preserve claimants’ no claims bonus if they are victims of car vandalism.  It also covers against common damage such as the car being keyed and smashed windows, and more substantial crimes such as slashed tyres and car graffiti.  Incidents need to be reported to the police and assigned a crime reference number.  Claimants will need to pay the excess and any damage being claimed for cannot have been caused by another vehicle. 

Top ten places where car vandalism takes place:

38% - Street outside home with street lights   
15% - Car park with lighting   
11% - Street in town centre with street lights   
11% - Driveway   
8% - Street outside a friend or relative’s house with street lights   
5% - Car park without lighting   
3% - Street / car park / at work without lighting   
2% - Street outside home without street lights 
1% - Street in town centre without street lighting   
1% - Street outside a friend or relative’s house without street lights

Top 10 acts of car vandalism:

43% - Scratched paintwork / keys scraped along the side of car 
23% - Damage to wing mirror 
21% - Smashed windows 
9% - Snapped aerials 
7% - Snapped windscreen wiper(s) 
5% - Slashed tyre(s)  
5% - Smashed light(s) 
5% - Dents  
4% - Badge theft (e.g. a VW badge) 
3% - Spray paint / graffiti on car 

Notes to Editors:

*The research was carried out on behalf of Direct Line motor insurance by YouGov.  A nationally representative sample of 4042 GB adults were questioned online between 13th and 17th December 2007. Results are weighted to be representative of the GB adult population.  YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council.
43% of 33.7 millions motorists in the UK (Department of Transport, 2007) = 14,491,000 motorists who have been a victim of vandalism.
30% of 14, 491,000 = 4,350,000 victims who claim the most recent act of vandalism took place less than 12 months ago.

** The research was carried out on behalf of Dirirect Line motor insurance by YouGov in November 2006.

***4,350,000 x £151.60 = £659,460,000 (£151.60 identified as average cost per act of vandalism, YouGov, November 2006)

**** British Crime Survey, 2007

Find out about Car insurance from Direct Line.

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