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Recently published research from hpi shows that many motorists now change their car as often as their mobile phone, often without owning it outright - so what does this mean for forecourt insurance at new and used car dealerships up and down the UK?


The survey found that the recommended lifespan of a mattress is around eight years, while the average mobile phone contract lasts for 24-36 months; yet some manufacturers see new cars returned in just 18 months from leaving the assembly line.


For used car dealers, this has mixed implications, as it means a more plentiful supply of newer, higher-value vehicles, but also potentially faster and more volatile turnover of stock.


James Dower, used car specialist at hpi, comments: "After buying a house, the car was traditionally the biggest outlay for most consumers, but now they are far more likely to change their car more often than their technology products or some regular household objects."


This also means that whereas customers previously would have been likely to buy a car and not return for several years, if at all, there are now very real opportunities to sell another vehicle to the same customer little more than one year later.


"The car is still a status symbol and getting a new one allows people to show off to a degree," Mr Dower added. "Changing cars with such regularity was almost unheard of just ten years ago.


"Previously it was fairly common for motorists to have their vehicles for a minimum of five years or longer but that has now changed dramatically and dropped to just two years for millions of drivers."


For dealerships, this means it is important to keep a careful eye on used car dealership insurance policies in order to ensure that the level of stock on-site at any one time does not go over the policy limit.


If, for example, you typically have high turnover of used car stock, you might easily go over your policy limit if you take delivery of several high-value vehicles in a week when sales happen to drop for any reason.


More regular customers can also mean more test drives and opportunities for accidents or driving offences involving your vehicles while out on the public roads.


Again, it's crucial to have the right insurance in place to protect against any such eventualities, as well as promptly updating ownership documents when you take ownership of new stock or sell a vehicle to a customer, so that you are not held liable for any offences that are not actually your fault.