For many people across the UK, December means more time in their car and new research from Sainsbury’s Bank Car Insurance⁽¹⁾ reveals more than two in five people (43%) make extra car journeys in December. When it comes to spend, drivers estimate they spend an additional £56 on fuel during the month⁽¹⁾.  

Christmas morning is the busiest day for setting off for festivities with 40% of people jumping in the car. Christmas Eve is next with 17% of people travelling to meet friends and relatives and 13% on Boxing day. 53% of people are travelling on both Christmas and Boxing day and 70% undertake car journeys on all three days.

Some will be travelling further than others with drivers clocking up an average of 28 extra miles⁽¹⁾. Those in Edinburgh will be running up an extra 47 miles around Christmas time, in Brighton this figure is 42 miles and Bristolians will cover 35 miles once they set off from home. 

Karen Hogg, Head of Insurance at Sainsbury’s Bank, said: “In December, people often find themselves hopping in the car more often, from visiting family and friends to running small errands on Christmas Eve.

“Of course, the challenges presented by winter driving make the consequences of a breakdown or accident greater, so it’s important those getting behind the wheel have a quality breakdown cover to provide peace of mind should the worst happen.”

Food and snacks are an essential part of the festive season with a quarter (25%) of UK drivers making extra trips for this reason in December. 24% of drivers will be making journeys to visit family and friends and over one in ten (11%) will be having a winter outing in the car to events like ice skating and pantomimes.

Picking up friends and family in order to take them to festivities, the proverbial festive family taxi service, accounts for 8% of the extra trips in December.

Every driver needs to be insured and Sainsbury’s Bank offers customers exclusive rewards and discounts on car insurance if you have a Nectar Card. Customers can find out more online https://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/car-insurance/index,  get a quote and pick the right cover for them. 

Sainsbury’s Bank offers a range of key benefits with comprehensive car insurance, such as windscreen cover and courtesy car and optional extras like breakdown cover and key cover. Furthermore, Nectar Card holders receive a discount on their car insurance ⁽²⁾ and double Nectar points for the length of the policy ^(3).

Sainsbury’s Bank offers the following tips for December drivers:

• Meet halfway: Some journeys can take a considerable amount of time, especially if you need to make a journey to pick up your child from university for example. Consider seeing if the kids can organise a  rota for the mums and dads, one term about maybe or getting public transport to a closer meeting point
• Consolidate journeys / get it delivered: For example, Sainsbury’s and Argos both provide click and collect and home deliveries. Sainsbury’s offers delivery slots for example from only a pound when you spend £40 or more⁽⁴⁾
• Check road conditions: We all make a habit of checking the weather, but it is equally important to check road conditions too. Knowing about any road closures or tricky driving conditions in advance will help you know which routes to avoid. And make sure you take precautions such as winter tyres and a fully charged mobile phone
• Top up the tank with points: If you are a Nectar Cardholder and take out car insurance with Sainsbury’s Bank, you will earn twice the Nectar points on Sainsbury’s shopping and fuel ⁽³⁾  These extra points earned will come in handy during the new year

   

  ENDS

  For further information, please contact:

  Sainsbury’s Bank press office 0131 286 0010 / [email protected]

  Notes to editor:

  This press release is information for journalists only and is not intended to be a promotion to be acted upon by consumers.

   

  Rates and information correct at date of issue.

   

  Sainsbury’s Bank Car Insurance is underwritten by a carefully selected range of insurers.

   

   ⁽¹⁾ Sainsbury’s Bank commissioned Opinium Research to survey 2,001 nationally representative UK adults aged 18+ between 2 and 5 October 2018. Opinium Research is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules

   

  ⁽²⁾ The discount is based on information related to you and the transactions you've made with Sainsbury's supermarkets and Sainsbury's Bank using your Nectar card. For more information go to sainsburysbank.co.uk/nectar.

   

  ⁽³⁾ Double points begin on your policy’s cover start date. If you don’t tell us your Nectar card number until after your cover start date, double points will begin on the date you tell us.

   Double Nectar points

• Only available to customers buying a new Sainsbury's Bank Car Insurance policy.
• You need to tell us your Nectar card number when you apply, and use this card with each Sainsbury's purchase.
• Double points begin on your policy's cover start date. If you don't tell us your Nectar card number until after your cover start date, double points will begin on the date you tell us.
• Double points stop when the policy is cancelled or you stop paying premiums.
• Each Nectar account can only collect points from one car insurance policy.
• It’s only the base points you collect at Sainsbury’s that are doubled. If you’re taking part in the new Nectar trial, it’s the points you get on new Nectar that are doubled. Bonus points won’t be doubled, nor will any points from Argos, Habitat, Sainsbury’s Bank (including travel money purchases), Sainsbury’s Energy or any other Sainsbury’s service.
• By the 10th of each month, you'll get a bonus point award equal to the total of your qualifying points during the previous month, up to a maximum of 20,000 points.
• Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd award the points from this offer.
• No cash alternative is available. Sainsbury's Bank reserves the right to alter, cancel or withdraw this offer without notice.

   ^{(4) https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/discoverhome/shopping-online/delivery}

   

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Sainsbury’s was the first major British supermarket to open a bank, commencing trading in February 1997. Benefiting from a fantastic, trusted brand that enables us to combine the shopping experience with personal finance, Sainsbury’s Bank provides a range of quality products including insurances, credit cards, mortgages, savings and loans. Our proposition is to make shopping more rewarding by offering customers great products at fair prices, while consistently rewarding shoppers for their loyalty and being easy to do business with at all times. Our products consistently top best buy tables and regularly win awards for quality, price and service.

Sainsbury's Bank plc. Registered Office, 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT (registered in England and Wales, no 3279730) is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (register no. 184514). Sainsbury's Bank plc is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).