Car commuters risk losing 25m hours at home per day

A new survey by Marks & Spencer Car Insurance has revealed that British commuters, who already work some of the longest hours in Europe, would have to spend more than 90 minutes extra away from home each day if their car was off the road and their insurance policy didn’t guarantee them a replacement vehicle.

The survey also revealed that nearly a quarter (22%) of car commuters hadn’t checked whether their policy would guarantee them a replacement vehicle in situations such as total loss or theft of the vehicle. This means around four million people could be at risk of having their working day extended by more than an hour and a half.

Peter Longstaff, Head of General Insurance at Marks & Spencer Money, said: "One of the main reasons 79% of commuters live within 20 miles of their workplace is to spend as little time as possible travelling. Suddenly having to find alternative means of getting to work would significantly reduce the amount of time they have at home, so it’s essential that they have the right level of cover to minimise the inconvenience of not having a car available.

"Marks & Spencer’s car insurance guarantees to keep policy holders on the road if their own vehicle is out of action, due to it being repaired after an accident, stolen or even written off. This is something that many policies don’t guarantee."

Peter Longstaff continued: "Many people buy the cheapest possible insurance just to be legal, without fully considering how they’d commute to work if their car was off the road.

"The reality is that most insurers will include a courtesy car as standard, but only if the repair workshop has one spare an if your car is damaged through the fault of someone else. If you’ve caused the damage, or if they don’t have a car free, then I’m afraid you’re quite likely to be looking at a period of drawn out commuting."