£4.4 Billion Saved by Car Insurance Companies in 2020 in The UK Because Of Covid-19
£4,392,985,600
...is the estimated amount of savings on payouts realized by the car insurance companies in the UK in 2020, as most drivers had to stay home due to Covid-related restriction measures in the country.
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| Categories | Numbers |
|---|---|
| Estimated car-related claims decline across the UK in 2020 | 49.8% |
| Estimated savings made by car insurers in 2020 | £4,392,985,600 |
41.2% drop in car accidents across the UK in 2020
2020 has been a year like no other for the British citizens. Two national lockdowns in England, multiple local lockdowns, tier-levels restrictions systems and a whole range of other restrictions measures have considerably affected the people's daily routine. As we had observed on a first study published in June focused on the first national lockdown period, daily commutes have significantly decreased across the country, a fact that is confirmed by the numbers gathered by HelloSafe:
Car insurance savings per region / country
Overall, insurance companies could save up to £4.4 billion in 2020 thanks to the change in driving habits caused by the lockdown measures. When looking at the regions chart above, we can observe that:
- Greater London accounts for the highest savings, with an 58.9% overall drop in the number of car-related claims. That corresponds to a £693.3 million reduction in the sums to be paid out by insurers to their policyholders.
- Just like during the first national spring lockdown (March - May 2020), we observe that the less densely populated areas are those where car claims decrease the less: Scotland (-36.7 %), North East England (- 41%) and Wales (- 45.3%).
A lookout on the 20 biggest cities of the UK
The decrease in car-related claims has been bigger in the greatest UK urban areas. It is therefore no surprise to see that London ranks first in the cities were car insurance savings have been the most important:
| Cities* | Region / Country | Decrease rate | Savings on payouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | London | 58,9 % | £696 ,279 ,569 |
| Birmingham | West Midlands | 57,4% | £89, 121, 993 |
| Liverpool | North West | 55,6% | £43, 343, 007 |
| Manchester | North West | 56,1% | £41, 856 ,199 |
| Bristol | South West | 54,2% | £41 ,716 ,685 |
| Sheffield | Yorkshire Humber | 51,2% | £37 ,511, 409 |
| Glasgow | Scotland | 43,7% | £35, 994, 401 |
| Leeds | Yorkshire Humber | 48,9% | £33 ,127 ,253 |
| Leicester | East Midlands | 45,1% | £28 ,585 ,045 |
| Edinburgh | Scotland | 42,5% | £27 ,914, 313 |
| Coventry | West Midlands | 55,1% | £27 ,371 ,140 |
| Bradford | Yorkshire Humber | 50,5% | £24 ,537 ,348 |
| Cardiff | Wales | 47,9% | £22, 597, 953 |
| Nottingham | East Midlands | 53,3% | £22 ,367 ,068 |
| Belfast | Northern Ireland | 48,5% | £21 ,469 ,808 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | West Midlands | 55,1% | £20, 544, 001 |
| Southampton | South East | 55,7% | £20 ,181, 524 |
| Derby | East Midlands | 52,3% | £18, 576 ,722 |
| Kingston upon Hull | Yorkshire Humber | 46,7% | £18, 142 ,358 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | North East | 44,0% | £16 ,689 ,068 |
*Those numbers do not take into account the urban or metropolitan area, but only the city itself
Antoine Fruchard, insurance expert and CEO at Hello-Safe.co.uk
“After the first national lockdown was eased, we thought that life would go back to normal. However, with that second pandemic wave that is shaking the UK, road traffic has gone down again, and again the insurance companies save money on claims. With fast-deteriorating economic conditions, Brits are likely to question their 2021 premiums. A discount may be expected by them, to compensation a 2020 year during which it has often been impossible to get our with the car. Car insurance companies will probably have to make an effort, which could take the shape of a one-shot refund or of a premium discount. In this very uncertain future, the insurance industry will be watched”.
Our methodology
We based our study on public information provided by reliable data-providers, as well as on 18 European insurance partners who provided us anonymously with claims for the 2020 year. More than 500,000 policyholders from all the UK regions have been taken into account. For further information on our editorial guidelines please click here.
About HelloSafe
HelloSafe is a comparison platform which is shaking up the insurance market – giving you access to the best UK insurance deals in less than 30 seconds. HelloSafe is supported and financed by Blue, an Insuretech Venture Capital firm. Blue already owns two leaders in the French insurance comparison market, Réassurez-moi and Coover. These platforms help more than 10 million people with their insurance every year. We have developed a unique comparison technology that gives access to cover details and quotes without customers having to give their phone number or email address. This engine is the result of four years of hard work.
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