February 15th, 2012 
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Insurance Claims
Insurance companies in the UK are facing a hoard of claims form the customers because of the high winds and the rains that have pummeled the UK since the start of the New Year. There has been an increase in the calls received by the insurance companies which is almost 200 per cent more than the normal according to the AA Insurance company. On the other hand, The Co-operative has reported that it has received more calls on the 3rd of this month than it was expecting for the whole of the month.
PWC an accounting firm predicts that the storm will accelerate the already increasing household insurance prices. “While it is still too early to put a potential cost on the damage caused, it is likely the UK storms will exacerbate the recent rises in household premiums in the regions where the storm hit most severely,” said Mohammed Khan, insurance partner for PWC. He also added, “For other parts of the UK, we would expect household premiums to continue to rise at the current rate – about 3% on average.” Scotland has been the worst hit part of the UK however; England, Wales and Northern Ireland are also affected severely. In Nottinghamshire, several houses were left without any electricity while, trees were uprooted and brought down by winds blowing at 1000 miles per hour in Cambria. A series of winter storm systems which have been prevalent across Northern Europe are the cause for the high winds and storms in the UK. On the 3rd January, Windstorm Ulli was the reason behind the high winds. On the other hand, the gales on the 5th of January were caused because of the Windstorm Andrea. High winds and the flooding caused by the winter storm systems have affected other countries as well like France, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. This has resulted in a lot of loss and damage of property and in turn the claims for insurance against damage have become twofold in this month. Not only the household insurance but also the car insurance providers are also facing a sudden rise in the claims. Last week due to the storm, it is being reported that there has been an increase of almost 28 per cent in just five days as compared to the normal situation which prevailed during the last year at the same time.
The Director of AA Insurance, Simon Douglas told that the most common cause for the damages sustained by the cars is the dislodged tiles from the roofs of houses and the broken branches of the trees. “Other claims are from items not fixed to the ground – including eight cars damaged by trampolines, dozens of wheelie bins, garden sheds, TV aerials, a church hall roof and even a dinghy. Several customers also had their car door whipped out of their hand by a gust of wind, breaking hinge mechanisms, smashing glass or damaging a vehicle parked in the next space.” Mr. Simon added.
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