Arctic winter cost insurers £650m
Britain's coldest winter for 30 years led to £395 million of weather-related car insurance claims, according to a trade body.
About 268,400 motorists called their insurers to fix damage to their vehicles caused by slippery roads between December 18 and January 13,
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said 335,000 claims were made across all insurance sectors - worth £650 million overall - and £225 million of this went to homeowners and businesses hit by weather damage.
Insurers received twice as many claims as they would expect for the period, with 60,200 of the 66,600 total coming from homeowners. Roof damage caused by snow made up a large proportion of the £194 million-worth of payouts.
The ABI said it's too early to predict if insurance premiums would increase after the winter's high claims total.
Nick Starling, the ABI's director of general insurance and health, said: "Insurers will always respond quickly to the large number of claims that often result from bad weather.
"Insurers have paid out nearly £1 billion to customers following bad weather this winter, as the heavy snow came weeks after the flooding in Cumbria, which led to insurers paying out £200 million in flood claims."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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