LONDON, December 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

30% of Brits say they hide Christmas presents in cars because of 'Christmas Curiosity' by their children or partners, leaving themselves prey to thieves and festive misery

Brits will hide an astonishing £2.4 billion¹ worth of Christmas presents in their cars this year, according to new research from leading insurer, Allianz Your Cover.

The survey of 2,000 people showed that despite the increased risk of crime over the festive season, 30% said they hid Christmas presents in cars and 28% of those people will leave them unsecured or on display in their vehicles, making themselves even more at risk of theft. Sadly, 66% of people who have been a victim of this type of festive crime said that it 'ruined their Christmas'.

According to the survey, the top five Christmas presents people hide are:  

1. Toys (42%)

2. Gadgets (24%)

3. Children's Bikes (21%)

4. Clothing (21%)

5. Jewellery (19%)

More than half of the people said they kept gifts in cars to hide them from their children, while 45% said they were keeping them out of sight of snooping partners. And it would seem that these suspicions are not entirely unfounded, with nearly one in five women confessing that they

hunt for hidden presents from their partner in the run-up to Christmas day, compared to only one in ten men.

The report also found that 30% of people who do find a hidden present meant for them will say nothing and then fake surprise when they open it on Christmas day.

Shockingly, men are more likely to use their hidden Christmas present and then put it back with 8% confessing to having done this before.

One third of motorists also admitted they either didn't lock their valuables away in the vehicle

or left them on display. The most common items that fall into these categories are:

1. Satnav (20%)
2. Smartphone (17%)
3. Wallet (14%)

Jon Lott of Allianz Your Cover comments:

"The fear of 'Christmas Curiosity' unearthing presents that are meant to be surprises for loved ones means that many people leave expensive presents in cars. We recommend motorists never leave items of value in vehicles but if they do, they should ensure their belongings are placed in a locked glove box or boot as leaving them on display could attract unwanted attention from thieves."

"People are taking a high risk by hiding presents in their cars. It's also possible that their insurance policy will not cover high value items left in the car."

For more information on how to protect your vehicle against crime, please visit the Allianz Your Cover website: http://www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk/.

Notes for the Media

A survey of 2,000 people in the UK was carried out in November 2012 by One Poll on behalf of Allianz Your Cover.

^[1] £2.4 billion (62.3m Brits in the UK http://www.statistics.gov.uk divided by 30% of people that have hidden presents in the car x £134.28 average price of hidden present.)

About Allianz Your Cover

• Allianz Your Cover is a new breed of insurance product, offering cover that customers select to precisely match their own lifestyle and circumstances. Using an easy to use 'Quote and Buy' website, Your Cover makes it simple to design and, obtain a quote, and manage your insurance online.
  
• The result of two years' research involving thousands of insurance buyers, Allianz Your Cover is a product from Allianz Insurance plc, which is a part of the global Allianz Group.
  
• Your Cover insurance quotes are available online at http://www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk.