Car insurers make £10m saving in Highland as Covid-19 keeps drivers off the road
Lockdown brought good news for Scotland's car insurers, if few others, with the downturn in road use saving them more £10 million in claims in Highland alone.
Claims in the council area are estimated to have dropped by almost a third (32.8 per cent) over 2020, slightly below the national average of 36.65 per cent, amounting to a total saving of £10,247,553.
Neighbouring Moray did not see as big a fall in claims, but even with an estimated 27.3 per cent decrease, insurance companies will save £3,458,906.
Nationally the insurance sector looks set to have made a saving of £264 million in car insurance claims with £50.4 million of that coming from the city of Glasgow alone, where claims dropped by 43.7 per cent.
Antoine Fruchard, insurance expert and chief executive at price comparison website Hello-Safe.co.uk, says the figures will lead consumers to question how much they
He commented: “With most people stuck at home, their cars have inevitably stayed in the garage. When the tier-system rules will be over and people will start going out again, the number of cars on the road is likely to increase back at pre-Covid levels.
"However, it is likely that customers will question why they continued to pay such high insurance premiums whilst they weren’t able to drive. It will be interesting to see if all the insurance companies will make more refunds, or which other kind of discount they will offer. Competition between them may be increasing in the coming months, and that means customers should see a slight drop in car insurance premiums – which would be fair given the economic crisis which may catch Scotland in the post-Covid world.”
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