Pothole damage 'driving car insurance claims'

New research shows potholes were responsible for nearly £3 million in car insurance claims.

Damage caused by potholes resulted in millions of pounds in car insurance claims last month.

Research from AA Insurance shows the cost of such damage saw claims of around £2.85 million over the course of February.

With this sum the equivalent of about 1,900 claims in the month, the firm points out the number of claims on such British insurance have risen by more than 600 per cent in the past three years.

However, AA Insurance director Simon Douglas states this is "just the tip of the iceberg, because it takes serious damage to make it worth [an] insurance claim".

The firm points out potholes can prove particularly troublesome when driving along rural roads at night as the driver is often unaware of the pothole until after the damage has been done to their vehicle.

And car day insurance customers may also be aware of the firm's recent research showing the typical quote for third party, fire and theft stood at £1,252 by the end of 2009, with annual comprehensive insurance just over £1,000.

By Joe Letts