1st Central Insurance research, conducted with 2000 UK motorists, has revealed that despite the hype, only 15.8% of drivers have ever suffered damage to their car as a result of a pothole. The majority of these (69%) cover the cost of fixing the damage from their own pocket, rather than via their insurance company or by claiming from the council.
The issue of potholes appears to be growing with the increasingly hard winters faced by the UK impacting road surfaces. Scottish drivers reported the highest percentage of damage to vehicles, with 18.9% of individuals surveyed having suffered damage to their car as a result of a pothole.
Women are more likely to claim via their insurance company (14.5%) compared to men (12%), whilst conversely 12% of men claimed via the council compared to only 5.9% of women.
The majority of claims cost between £100 and £200 to repair, but the North West topped the league table with 2.86% of respondents fixing pothole damage, reporting costs of up to £900.
Only 16.75% of people have ever reported a pothole, with over 55 year olds being the most likely candidates (21.07%). Of those reported, the council fixed 62% of the offending potholes, whilst 30% remained unattended.
Claire Burrell, Claims Director at 1st Central commented: “The prevalence of potholes is undoubtedly on the increase, yet reports of damage to vehicles and frequency of the public reporting them is still relatively low. Despite ongoing criticism of council action and the budget allocated to fixing the UK’s highways, it is encouraging to see a large percentage of reported potholes being fixed. It must however, be remembered that despite a relatively low percentage of motorists claiming direct from their insurers, probably due to excess costs exceeding the cost of the damage, councils are also making claims on their own insurance to counter balance their costs in fixing this growing problem.”
