GPs take the title for Britain's most accident-prone drivers for the fifth year in a row

 

A study by GoCompare Car Insurance has found GPs are the most likely to make a claim due to an accident that was their fault, as more than one in every eight (12.4%) GPs has made at least one ‘at-fault’ claim in the past year – more than double the national average across all occupations (6%). Interestingly, 11.6% of these claims involved no injuries, with GPs not actually making the Top 20 for claims involving persons injured.

The research shows that overall, health and medical professionals are the most likely to cause a collision on the road.

Along with GPs, hospital consultants (11.5%), hospital doctors (10.7%), surgeons (10.5%), health visitors (10.4%), optometrists (9.9%) and speech therapists (9.9%) all feature in the top-ten drivers, by occupation, who are most likely to be in a no injuries collision that was their fault.

Those working within the mortgage industry also proved to make more at-fault claims than the national average, with mortgage brokers (10.3%) and mortgage consultants (9.8%) both featuring in the top 20.

Other occupations with a higher proportion of at-fault claims than average, included dieticians (9.6%), insurance representatives (9.4%), dentists, and psychologists (both 9.3%).

At the other end of the scale, those least likely to make at-fault claims were barmen/barmaids (2.3%), pickers (2.3%), packers (2.6%), carpet cleaners (2.7%), despatch drivers (2.7%) and car dealers (3.0%).

Top 10                                                                                                                      

1	General Practitioner	12.4%
2	Claims Adjustor	11.9%
3	Hospital Consultant	11.5%
4	Hospital Doctor	10.7%
5	Surgeon	10.5%
6	Health Visitor	10.4%
7	Mortgage Broker	10.3%
8	Optometrist	9.9%
9	Speech Therapist	9.9%
10	Insurance Consultant	9.76%

Bottom 10

1	Barman	2.3%
2	Picker	2.3%
3	Packer	2.6%
4	Carpet Cleaner	2.7%
5	Despatch Driver	2.7%
6	Car Dealer	3.0%
7	Car Wash Attendant	3.0%
8	Painter	3.2%
9	Garage Manager	3.4%
10	Book Seller	3.5%

 

 

 

Matt Oliver, spokesperson for GoCompare Car Insurance, said: “It may seem ironic that those working in the medical profession are those potentially causing the most accidents, but these are all roles which carry a significant degree of stress and usually long hours, potentially leading to a lack of concentration on the road.

“Further to this, another reason we could be seeing these occupations in the top ten is because of where these health professionals are driving. Typically, they will be driving for short periods, at peak times in highly built-up areas, increasing the risk of an accident.

“Driving while stressed, tired or angry can easily lead to accidents and if it is deemed you were at fault for an accident due to negligence behind the wheel, your insurer may not pay out for a potential claim and you could even face criminal prosecution.

“What’s more, claiming on insurance when you’re at-fault will see your premium rocket, more so than other claims, as you are deemed a higher risk driver, so this really highlights the importance and implications of not fully concentrating on the road when you’re driving.

“It’s really important you’re properly considering your ability to drive before you get behind the wheel, and if distracted, it’s probably worth pulling over in a safe place and taking a break.”

-ends-

For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson, Martyn John or Louisa Marsden at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725 / 01633 655 132

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter: @GoCompare

Notes to editors:

Customer data was taken from the last occurrence of that customer quoting in 2017.

Proportion of customers in that group that have claim/conviction (e.g. 12.4% of all customers with the occupation General Practitioner who quoted as the proposer for car insurance in 2017 had a “driver at fault” claim)

Proportion of total customer group that split makes up (e.g. 0.06% of all customers who quoted as the proposer for car insurance in 2017 had the occupation General Practitioner)

Rank (by proportion of customers in metric that have a particular claim or conviction)

About GoCompare

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When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.

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For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com/