Three quarters of motorists do not full understand the details of what their policy does and does not cover, revealed a survey from Norwich Union.
Nearly 60% of those surveyed said they thought their insurers would play a part in their recovery if they were to suffer a whiplash injury in an accident that was not their fault.
But David King of Norwich Union Insurance warned that most motor insurance policies do not have automatic cover for personal injuries.
“Drivers may be getting their priorities wrong when it comes to taking out insurance. They tend to select by price and the level of cover for their car and don't even consider whether the policy covers them for the risk of personal injury.
“But they need to bear in mind that while it costs an average of £1,000 to repair a car, the average cost of an injury claim is between £2,000 and £3,000.
“People often have an ‘it won't happen to me' approach but there are hundreds of thousands of accidents involving injury every year, and around 80% of all personal injury claims involve ‘soft tissue' or ‘whiplash' injuries.
“People need to be aware that if the worse does happen, they can't assume that their insurer will look after them.”
The Norwich Union study, completed by the Future Foundation, also found:
· 97% believe getting better is the most important priority after a car accident, compared to two per cent who think that the priority should be getting compensation,
· 57% of drivers don't think about personal injury when they renew their motor insurance policy
· Three in five people have car insurance mainly because they worry about their car being stolen or damaged
· 51% say they only have motor insurance because it is compulsory
· More people believe their policy covers their own recovery (82%) than believe they're covered for the costs of a third party (74%).
The insurer recently launched a comprehensive physiotherapy policy, called Physio Fast, as an add on for its motor insurance policyholders.
