GPs are Britain's worst drivers for the fourth year in a row

1 February 2017
GPs are Britain's worst drivers for the fourth year in a row*
Research has found that GPs have the highest proportion of claims of
any other occupation in the UK**
General Practitioners have been crowned the most likely of any occupation to claim on their car insurance, according to research from Gocompare.com Car Insurance,
The study found that GP's were more than twice as likely to make a claim than the national average (6%) with just over one in 10 (13%) GPs having made at least one at-fault claim in the past five years.
Top 10 professions with highest proportion of claims on their car insurance

General Practitioner

12.58%

Hospital Consultant

12.05%

Outreach Worker

11.05%

Hospital Doctor

10.46%

Surgeon

10.41%

Health Visitor

10.37%

Insurance Consultant

10.18%

Psychotherapist

10.07%

Dental Surgeon

9.93%

Psychologist

9.76%

Occupations in the health or medical professions dominate the top 10 list of the most accident prone drivers, claiming eight of the top 10 spots.
Those working in insurance also tended to have higher claims than the national average with three professions appearing in the top 20; insurance consultants (10.18%), insurance representatives (9.42%) and claims adjustors (9.39%).
Other occupations with higher claims than the national average include; milkmen (6.09%), health and safety executives (6.83%) and optometrists (9.34%).
In contrast, occupations amongst the least likely to make are claim are car dealers (2.05%), abattoir workers (2.36%) and car wash attendants (2.41%).
Dr Craig Knight, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, and director of Haddleton Knight, specialises in the Psychology of working environments: "Jobs in the health sector seem likely to attract high-risk car accident factors for a number of reasons.
"Firstly, the roles carry a significantly raised degree of cognitive load - making decisions that will affect somebody's chances of sustained well-being or survival which can lead to distracting thoughts whilst driving.
"Secondly, almost all of the professions in the top 10 are working with clients who themselves are typically stressed, adding to the demanding nature of their job. Stress has a level of contagion which doesn't help with concentration.
"Thirdly, health professionals are often completing short hop journeys, usually in sub/urban areas where most accidents happen. Either that or they are driving into hospital car parks, which are notorious accident black spots."
Matt Oliver, Gocompare.com car insurance spokesperson added: "While it's ironic that those best placed to deal with accidents in the car make up the majority of our top 10, this study highlights the importance of concentration while driving.
"Driving while stressed, tired or frustrated can lead to accidents. As well as putting yourself and others in danger, if it's deemed that you were at fault for an accident due to negligence, it can affect your car insurance.
"At-fault accidents tend to affect car insurance premiums more than other claims as insurers will deem the driver as higher risk. Drivers with an at-fault claim could see their premiums rise as much as £70**. However, how much premiums go up could depend on the severity of the claim."
For more information visit Gocompare.com's guide on insurance claims after an accident.
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For further information please contact:
Rhian Davies or Martyn John at Gocompare.com on 01633 655 209 / 01633 654 725
Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845
Keep up-to-date with the Gocompare.com press team on Twitter; @Gocomparecomms
Notes to editors:
*Gocompare.com analysed actual car insurance quotes made by customers on the site between January and December every year between 2012 - 2016. The comparison site looked at the number of drivers with car insurance claims in the past five years and ranked them to find out which occupations had the highest proportion of drivers with claims in each year. GPs came out with the highest proportion of claims than any other occupation in every year.
**Gocompare.com analysed car insurance quotes made by customers on the site between January 2016 and December 2016. Gocompare.com looked at the numbers of drivers with car insurance claims, where the driver was at fault, within the past five years and ranked by profession. Data available on request.
**Based on quote run by Gocompare.com on 35 year old GP insuring Audi A3 S Line TFSI, 5 years no claims bonus, with and without an at-fault claim, no injuries, cost of the claim £300.
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