A recent study has found that an estimated 384,000 vehicles were written off by insurers in Britain last year, meaning one every 90 seconds on average.
Data analysed by Churchill Car Insurance also reveals that more than 1,000 cars a day last year were assessed as damaged beyond repair. That means that remarkably one in 83 drivers in Britain had their car written off.
Of all the car insurance claims last year, 57 per cent came from men, with men under the age of 25 being almost twice as likely to have a car written off than any other age group.
It is estimated that nearly 34,000 claims were made on vehicles less than five years old and the average value of these claims is over £9,000.
The head of car insurance at Churchill, Steve Barrett, said: “When a car is written off it is either the result of it being unsafe for the road, or because repairing it would be uneconomical in comparison to its value. Many people assume that this is the result of a major collision, but a car can be written off for any number of reasons.
“This analysis shows the risks drivers can face, and underlines the importance of having comprehensive car insurance policies in place should the worst happen and their car is written off.”
