25, March, 2021, LONDON –

The average British driver wouldn’t claim for damage costing under £667, according to new research from personal finance comparison site, finder.com.

Over 1 in 10 drivers (11%) wouldn’t claim for anything under £1000, this includes 2% who would pay up to £5000 worth of damages themselves.

At the other end of the scale, almost 8% would claim for any damages worth up to £100 and 2% of these would claim for any damages, no matter how small the cost of repair.

Overall, the new research found that 95% of drivers say they would claim on their insurance if necessary. However, 1.83 million drivers (5%) say they would never claim despite having to pay for it every year as a legal requirement in the UK.

The most common reason for not claiming was that drivers thought the cost of the excess would likely exceed the cost of repairs, with 51% of drivers listing this as their reason to not claim.

Following this, drivers were concerned that claiming would increase their premiums in the future (46%), while 44% were worried about losing their no claims bonus.

Over a fifth of drivers (22%) said they wouldn’t submit a claim because it was too much hassle.

Demographic differences
The amount of damages before claiming differs significantly for each gender. For women the damages would have to come to £567 before claiming, whilst men would not bother to claim until repairs reached a further £193 (£760 on average).

Similarly, residents in regions around the UK have differing views on this too. For those living in Northern Ireland repairs would have to cost only £448 before claiming, while at the other end of the scale Londoners wouldn’t claim until the damages reached over twice this amount at £921. The East Midlands had the highest number of residents who said they would never claim on their car insurance, with 7% of residents saying they would do this.

Unsurprisingly, the younger generations are more likely to not claim as a way to avoid increased premiums on already expensive insurance. Gen Z would wait until damages reach over £1000 on average before doing so, while 7% of millennials say they would never claim on their car insurance. Those in the silent generation are less concerned about these issues and would claim when damages reached £437 on average.

Danny Butler, Insurance specialist at finder.com has the following advice for drivers:
“There are a range of factors stopping drivers from claiming for damages to their car. If you combine the compulsory and voluntary excess levels with the potential of losing your no claims bonus and facing increased premiums, the long-term financial outlay isn’t always worth it for many who suffer a minor accident.

“In addition, there’s usually a number of hoops to jump through when making a claim; such as using an approved repairer or submitting detailed evidence of your claim. Although these are relatively straightforward routines in concept, some insurers have more complex procedures which can result in more hassle than it’s worth for a minor claim.

“However, if you’ve been unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident, it’s still important that you drop your insurer a quick line even if you choose not to claim. You should let them know the details of the event and be clear in the fact that you don’t wish to claim on the insurance. If you don’t notify your insurer, you run the risk of invalidating your insurance which can result in you being uninsured for any future claims.

Methodology:
Finder commissioned Censuswide on 19 to 22 March 2021 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.