More than one in five vehicles damaged by potholes in the UK are written off, according to new research.
Data released by Allianz has found that 21% of the insurance claims it has received following pothole damage resulted in the vehicle being declared unrepairable.
It has received 1,266 pothole claims since the start of 2023. Of these, 1,114 did not involve another vehicle with 225 of them subsequently written off due to the high cost of repair. The insurer revealed it has paid out £4.6m on these claims, with the average total loss claim £7,900.
Meanwhile, analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) calculates the total annual cost – caused by damage to vehicles, accidents and reduced speeds – of potholes in England amount to £14.4bn a year.
Potholes damage
Caroline Johnson, claims director, said: “Our roads are blighted by potholes and it is astonishing to see the problems they cause. Many incidents result in damaged wheels, wrecked suspension, and misaligned bodywork. In one in five cases the damage is so severe and structural that it is not worth the cost of trying to repair the car. It’s a huge waste, and these costs feed back into the insurance premiums that many motorists are struggling to pay.
“Potholes are a growing menace, and we have seen a steady rise in both the frequency and cost of claims over the last few years. In early 2023 a typical claim cost just over £3,000, but that now stands at £4,000. It has become more expensive to repair cars for many reasons, including the cost of parts and specialist labour, so fixing any pothole-damaged car adds to the overall cost that insurers and ultimately consumers face.
“Our roads need better maintenance to reduce the number of potholes. The government’s recent announcement of increased spending on repairing the nation’s roads is welcome and will hopefully go some way to helping to alleviate this problem.”
