The winter months often see an increase in the number of car theft insurance claims, according to one expert.
Graeme Trudgill, technical and corporate affairs executive at the British Insurance Brokers' Association, said that people sometimes become the victims of thieves when they heat their cars up in a morning.
Mr Trudgill said that motorists often start their engines and then leave their cars and discover it has been stolen when they return.
"So if you are going to take a couple of minutes to defrost your car, make sure you stay with the car," he advised.
Car insurance companies are unlikely to pay out on claims when a driver has not taken "reasonable care", Mr Trudgill added.
In related news, Endsleigh Insurance recently identified Hull as the UK's "riskiest city" for car crime .
While Nottingham and Leeds were also found to have high rates of car crime, Swindon was found to be the safest.




