Storm Arwen damage could result in £250m-plus bill, says insurance expert

The repair bill from Storm Arwen could cost insurers more than £250 million, according to an expert.

Swathes of the UK have been hit by strong winds, sleet and snow.

Mohammad Khan, general insurance leader at PwC UK, said on Monday: “Insurance companies have been fielding a high volume of calls over the weekend and today on Storm Arwen.

“Most of the calls have been in relation to home and car damage – predominantly home, however, as is usual with a major storm; the claims from businesses take longer to be reported and to assess.

“Based on the breadth of Storm Arwen and the damage seen so far, we estimate the insurance losses could be between £250 million to £300 million.

“Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis last year both had high wind speed but also featured significant flood losses as well.”

Mr Khan added: “The majority of claims from storms like Arwen are damaged roofs, damaged outbuildings and damage caused by fallen trees and fences, as well as business losses due to loss of power, so we tend to see a lot of claims but not very many high-value claims.

“The average insurance windstorm claim for a home is between £1,000 and £1,500.

“When you have a combination of high wind and rain, the claims tend to be of a much larger size – (for example) on average between £25,000 and £35,000 for a flood claim for a typical home.”