Cold winter spells rise in insurance claims
Published On 21 February 2007
Although many dream of a white Christmas, it seems consumers may be ruing the cold conditions over December with the news that insurance claims have shot up. Barclays Home Insurance found that Brits faced one of the most expensive winter periods for a number of years with insurance claims stretching to £300 million.
The last two months have seen home insurance claims range from severe flooding to freezing snow and even a freak tornado that caused havoc in north London.
Those households suffering from storm damage increased by 158 per cent in January when compared to the 2006 figures while the following weeks of rain and snow pushed claims up also.
In fact, some 60 per cent of all home insurance claims are currently weather related with the average policy paying out £500.
Mark Till, Barclays spokesman, said: "The weather is always a favourite topic of conversation for us Brits but the extremes we have experienced in the last two months have kept everyone on their toes.
"From an unseasonably mild Christmas to snow across the country in the last few weeks and everything in between, including isolated tornados it's no surprise that we have seen a huge increase in the number of claims being made for weather-related damage."
Damage can range from broken fences to a roof being blown off or displaced, Mr Till added.
