Don't rely on car insurance to protect valuables at Glastonbury

As 177,500 music revellers head for the Glastonbury festival on Friday 26th June, new research from uSwitch.com reveals that 62% of car insurance providers will offer as little as £100 cover for all valuables left in the car. With 128,000 (72%) people travelling to the festival by car, this research shows that almost £8 million worth of items will be stored in these vehicles as a safer alternative to the tent.

Over two thirds (68%) of consumers are under the false hope that their car insurance policy covers damage or theft to the entire contents of the car. However, with items such as the Apple iphone costing up to £391.50 and a Tom Tom costing as much as £391, motorists could find they are under insured if they need to make a claim. As well as valuables, cash is also a problem at the festival. The average attendee spends almost £300 over the course of the weekend which means over £52 million will be vulnerable to theft at the festival.

Unfortunately, storing valuables in a tent is also a big mistake. Home insurance policies will not cover items away from home in an unlocked tent. In order to protect the actual tent from damage of theft, consumers will need to take out a bespoke insurance policy to protect the equipment. However, this will not protect any valuables stored inside.

Driving other cars

Cover for driving other cars is also a minefield of small print, particularly for the under 25's. With the average one way distance travelled to Glastonbury amounting to 140 miles, it is highly likely that many revellers will opt to share the driving with friends or family. Nearly a quarter of motorists however (22% or 5.5 million), admit they have let their friends and family drive their car without being named on their policy. One in ten drivers (9% or 2.2 million ) admit they have driven a car without being sure if they are insured to do so.

Whilst it could be tempting for motorists to relinquish some of the driving responsibility this summer, only those motorists over the age of 25 with fully comprehensive insurance are covered under their own policy to drive someone else's car.

For example the AA will automatically cover the partner of the vehicle owner up to comprehensive cover, but no other driver. At the same time Aviva, Swiftcover and Direct Line will both give comprehensive cover as long as the person driving is over the age of 25, but Admiral, eCar and More Than for example will only cover the person to Third Party Only cover. This means any damage inflicted to the owner's car under these polices will not be covered. The maximum fine imposed of £5,000, and the possibility of 6-8 penalty points indicates how serious an offence it is to drive without insurance, even if it's accidentally.

Mark Monteiro, insurance expert at uSwitch.com comments: "Going to a music festival should be a fun experience and reading insurance documents probably isn't high on the list of preparation priorities. However, an event such as Glastonbury creates an insurance minefield for both providers and policy holders. Placing all of your valuables in a car or a tent could very well exempt you from cover with every insurance policy you own. With high value items such as ipods, mobile phones and satellite navigation systems standard in most cars, this could be a very costly oversight.

"Our advice to motorists is to check all policy details before getting in the car, that way you can enjoy the music with peace of mind. It's always worth contacting your insurance provider to let them know what you're up to as they may be able to help you out."