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Having your vehicle hit while parked is the most common reason for making a car insurance claim – accounting for more than 10,000 claims every year – new data from RAA Insurance has revealed.
South Australia’s largest member organisation has revealed the top 10 most common reasons for making a car insurance claim, with ‘damaged while parked’ topping the list at 18% of all motor claims.
It was followed by hit fixed object (17%), windscreen damage (16%) and rear end collision (12%).
Head of Claims at RAA Insurance Jess Lyons said RAA received more than a thousand car insurance claims every week.
“In the 2022-23 financial year we paid out more than $250 million in car insurance claims,” Ms Lyons said.
“The list of most common claim types makes for interesting reading – with the most common cause being vehicles damaged while they’re stationary.
“Having your vehicle hit while parked is unfortunate and often out of your control – so you probably don’t want to be footing the repair bill yourself.
“In this instance, we always recommend getting the details of the driver who hit you if you can, so your insurer can help you investigate potentially having your excess waived if you weren’t at fault.
“If you’re the one who hits a parked car, you must stop and provide your details or report the incident to the police.
“We also receive a lot of claims for damaged windscreens, which can be a real safety hazard, so we recommend getting these repaired as soon as possible.”
Top 10 most common car insurance claims – 2020-2024
| Rank | Claim type | % of motor claims |
| 1 | Damage while parked | 18% |
| 2 | Hit fixed object | 17% |
| 3 | Windscreen | 16% |
| 4 | Rear end collision | 12% |
| 5 | Weather damage | 7% |
| 6 | Reversing collision | 7% |
| 7 | Animal collision | 4% |
| 8 | Lane Change collision | 3% |
| 9 | T-intersection collision | 2% |
| 10 | Malicious Damage | 1% |