A Flurry Of Car Insurance Claims And More Snow On The Way

Written by Editorial Team

04 February 2009 / by Rachael Stiles

Car insurance claims have shot up this week due to the snowfall which is affecting most of Britain, and the Met Office has forecast that there is more bad weather on the horizon.

Monday was the busiest day ever for AA car insurance claims, which was met with a tirade of reports from drivers who had come to blows with the weather, sliding on ice into walls, trees and lamp posts, bumping into other drivers, and getting shunted.

On a normal Monday, the AA would expect to receive an average 1,700 car insurance claims, but predicted that it would receive more like 3,000 due to British motorists being unfamiliar with driving in snow or icy conditions.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, said that “the claims are blowing in with the same force as the blizzards”, and urges drivers to “think twice before setting out on their journey where there are severe weather conditions: it’s just not worth risking losing your no-claim bonus.”

Esure car insurance also experienced an increase in claims, reporting that there was a 100 per cent rise in snow-related claims by 11 o’clock on Monday morning, after drivers woke up to snow-covered roads.

Those who do have to make a journey should ensure that they take some warm clothes, a waterproof, food, a flask of tea, and a mobile phone with them, esure suggests, in case they get stuck and have to wait to be rescued.

“This is a major weather incident and despite the warnings some people have clearly had to try to drive to work. Unfortunately, many of these have hit trouble early on.” said Adrian Webb, head of communications at esure.

But if data from Saga car insurance is anything to go by, the more mature driver has been less affected by the bad weather than their younger counterparts. The over 50s insurer reported that there was no increase in claims on Monday, because older drivers are using their experience to divert disaster.

But having already experienced its “most widespread snow for 18 years”, Britain’s not out of the woods yet, according to the Met Office. It has forecast that there is a risk of “exceptionally heavy snow” over the next few days which could impact areas all across the UK.

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