What is there to complain about this week?
Search engine
Google searches for insurance dropped by 11% from January to April this year, according to research by digital marketing agency Green Light. Home insurance enquiries dropped by 22%, with car insurance claims dropping 13%. But search volumes for travel insurance held up at around the 482,000 mark - a sign perhaps that most Brits have already decided their best bet for sun this summer is by going abroad.
Hail
AA Insurance has received 29 claims for cars damaged by the freak hail storm that hit Leicester last week. Customers reported that hail stones the size of golf balls battered their cars, with the AA attending to around 100 cars driven through or stuck in floodwater.
Flooding
As the rain falls and water levels rise, so could flood premiums. But insurers’ losses from the recent spate of flooding and landslides that hit the UK are not expected to top the £1.25bn paid by the industry in 2007. PwC insurance partner Mohammad Khan said: “We do not expect the current flooding to be as significant as this, but these figures are a stark reminder of how severe flood insurance losses can be.”
Riots
Police fear a repeat of the 2011 UK rioting, which is estimated to have cost insurers between £200m and £300m, though a final figure has not been published. The London School of Economics and the Guardian interviewed 130 police officers on the issue, with one Greater Manchester Police superintendent predicting more riots within the year.
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