Warnings have been announced by the The British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) that diesel drivers are actually the most at risk of misfuelling, which could potentially cost more than £5000 to repair and is not covered by nearly a third of insurance policies.

Incredibly BIBA have said that there are 150,000 misfuelling cases per year, 95 per cent are people putting petrol into diesel vehicles due to the wider diesel filler neck and narrower unleaded nozzle. A BIBA survey of the major UK insurers reveals that 30% would not pay a misfuelling claim.

Graeme Trudgill, BIBA Technical and Corporate Affairs Executive, said: "Nobody is immune to misfuelling, from TV celebrities like Philip Schofield to Wayne Rooney's reported misfuelling mishap, it is easily done. Even the Metropolitan police have spent nearly £280,000 repairing vehicles filled with the wrong fuel since mid 2006. It is important to speak to your insurance broker to arrange a fully comprehensive policy that covers these unexpected risks."

Advice in the event of a misfuelling misshap is that motorist should not start the vehicle and ought to notify the petrol station and breakdown company immediately. The possibility exists that an insurer may refuse to pay out in the case of a motorist who knowingly drives their vehicle with the wrong fuel in it because the policyholder may be deemed to have failed in their duty of care.

Source: BIBA