Car insurance claims soar to record numbers as heavy snow continues

Insurance companies across the UK are literally flooded with calls from motorists asking assistance to file car insurance claims which climbed to a record number during this week’s heavy snow fall.

Staff at insurance firm swiftcover.com plodded through the snow, hired 4×4 vehicles to report to work and even spent the night in the office just to take the calls from motorists. The number of insurance claims rose by 75 percent this week, records show.

Having the correct level of cover is vital during these difficult conditions and motorists are advised to check that they have the best car insurance for their needs.

Robin Reames, swiftcover.com’s director of claims said. “Claims during the winter months are usually 21 percent higher than the rest of the year, and the first working week of the New Year is traditionally a peak as an extra 14.5million cars hit the rush hour as schools and many people return to work for the first time after Christmas.”

The insurance firm said as they struggle with the sudden rise in claims, they were still able to handle at least 90 percent of the claims. The majority of the company’s employees were forced to walk to the office and leave their cars at home because of the heavy snow. One member of staff even had to get up at 4am in the morning to dig his car out of the snow, after abandoning it the night before, so he could get to work.

Others even hired four-wheel drive vehicles to take co-workers to work, while some stayed at a nearby hotel for several days to ensure they would be available for the next day to handle the unprecedented number of calls.

Based on records from the previous year, the company has predicted that the number of vehicular accidents during the first two weeks of the week would double compared with the normal daily level.

However, because of the heavy snow recorded in the first week of this year, the number of claims for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were 75 percent higher than the same period in 2009.

Reames explained that because of the severity of the snow this week, many people were caught by surprise which caused a record number of car accidents and problems with their vehicles which also translated to a large number of insurance claims.