Cars that were kept in a garage, enabled drivers to save around seven per cent on their annual premiums; if they live in rural areas, while drivers who lived in inner city areas, saved a staggering 35 per cent on the car insurance if they parked their cars in a garage.



Due to the fact that parking in a garage is seen as a safer option than parking on a street, the premiums can be lower. Parking on a driveway was also said to be safer than parking on the streets, so the relating premiums could also be cheaper.

The study, conducted by AA Personal Loans, showed that 43 per cent of participants whose cars had been damaged were parked on a residential street at the time.

Some of the most dangerous places to keep a car, were said to be car parks, particularly multi-storey car parks. However, the research showed that drivers were twice as likely to have damage done to their cars on a residential street - were cars are said to be at a higher risk of being vandalised or damaged - as in a supermarket car park and more than three times more likely than if their car was kept in a multi-storey car park.

If a garage is not available as a parking option, a doctor's surgery, hospital car park, outside a school, in an airport car park or outside of a restaurant, were seen as some of the safest places to park a car. With only 3 per cent of vandalism happening to cars, that were parked in this area.

AA Insurance also recommended parking in car parks, which are well lit and have good use of security features such as CCTV. Furthermore simple precautions like folding in side mirrors in, can reduce the risk of being knocked off or damaged.

Mark Huggins of AA Personal Loans said: “A car is a serious investment and finding it vandalised is frustrating, heartbreaking and of course expensive. If you are paying for your car with a personal loan, the last thing you want is the added financial burden of sorting out repairs so it's worth thinking about where you park.”

Mr Huggins also added: “If you are out and about, choose well-lit car parks preferably with good security such as CCTV even if it means a bit of a walk or a higher parking fee.”

Research from car insurance provider, FancyAcar reported that, having an engine immobiliser or alarm fitted can decrease the risk of a car being stolen and thus lead to a lower car insurance premium.

Further to this it was found that the occupation of the policy holder also affected the price of premium. A person with a desk job, implies a low risk job, however a job that involved using your car would present a higher risk to insurance companies.

Other factors such as the policy holders marital status, the car's insurance group and type of insurance along with the number of miles that will be driven in a year, also affect the total cost of the car insurance policy.