Don’t Leave Your Car Unattended With The Engine Running To Defrost It

Here in the UK, the weather has been rather cold for the past few days. This has resulted in vehicles that are left outside having their windows frozen which should be cleared before setting off on a journey.

If you leave your car unattended on your drive with the keys in the ignition and the engine running to defrost the windows you may not be insured if it is stolen.

Unfortunately, a lot of motorists don’t set aside sufficient time to defrost their car windows before commuting to work. So, rather than spending time using deicer and a scraper, they often just start the car engine, leave the keys in the car ignition and pop back inside their homes perhaps to have their breakfast, a shower and get dressed and leave the car unattended.

What many people do not realize is that if their car is stolen from outside their home with the keys having been left in the ignition as the car is being warmed up to defrost the windows then they may find that they are not insured as not many insurance companies provide cover in this situation. Therefore, you may wish to check your individual car insurance policy to find out if it is covered or not.

Car thieves know that a lot of people turn on their car engines in cold weather and then disappear inside their homes first thing in a morning leaving their vehicles unattended. Therefore, a car is at risk of being stolen if left unattended with its engine running and the keys left in the ignition. In fact, a few days ago, in the space of a mere 30 minutes, 6 vehicles were stolen in this way in the West Midlands.

Surely, it may be sensible to get up a little earlier in the morning when the weather is freezing cold and then pop out to the car and stay with it whilst the windows are defrosting. Whether you choose to defrost it by turning on the engine or use deicer and/or an ice scraper is obviously up to you. At least, in doing so, you will know that there are no implications with your car insurance.