Cars that are five years old are typically the vehicles which draw most insurance claims, new research has revealed.

A study by Virgin Money Car Insurance showed that nearly ten per cent of all motor claims came from drivers with five-year-old cars, with a relatively narrow band of ages accounting for a large proportion of all claims made.

Those cars which were aged between three and six years old accounted for around four in ten of all claims, even though they represent less than a quarter of all the cars on the road.

Grant Bather, Virgin Money Car Insurance spokesman, said the figures correlated with the average length of time motorists run their cars for.

"Drivers tend to change their car every three-to-five years and on this evidence they have some justification," he commented.

"This is not to say that cars five years old are the most dangerous, but that they are more likely to be involved in an incident that leads to a claim being made. This may be a traffic accident, breakdown or theft."

Statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders indicate that 7.4 million of the 31 million cars in the UK are between three and six years old.

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