Pothole-related motor claims hit record high as Cambridgeshire city tops list

Pothole-related motor insurance claims hit record highs this year, with Tesco Insurance making 12% more payouts in January 2026 than in it did in the entire second half of 2025. 

The insurer also noted that the value of these January payouts was nearly a third (32%) of all claims payouts in 2025.

And, Tesco data showed, the cost of pothole damage is rising, with the average claim costing £4,441.

Alex Cross, chief customer officer at Tesco Insurance, explained: “It’s no secret that the UK’s road are suffering badly, with the strain clearly showing on cars and vans from the growing number of potholes on our main roads and side streets. 

”But it’s telling from our figures for January 2026 that pothole damage could reach its worst levels yet. Pothole claims in the first month of the year represented 4.1% of all single vehicle accident claims we received, the highest ever recorded at Tesco Insurance.

“With the trend likely to continue as roads deteriorate, we advise drivers to take extra care when driving to avoid any costly damage to their vehicles.”

The Labour government included an extra £1.6bn in government funding for pothole repair across the UK when it swept to power in the 2024 election, but insurers have noted that this funding would do little to repair the local road network. 

Zurich Municipal, for example, estimated that £15.6bn of funding would be needed for repairs. 

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A pothole can form from general wear and tear or when water leaks into cracks and freezes in cold temperatures. When weather then starts to get warmer, the frozen water evaporates and leaves cracks in the road surface that can damage vehicles. 

Tesco Insurance data also revealed the UK towns and cities with the most pothole damage claims since 2020, with Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Northampton, East Midlands leading the table. 

These two towns also led the pothole damage tables for 2026 so far, based on January data, with the Cambridgeshire city also topping the figures for 2025 alongside Tonbridge, Kent. 

The insurer noted that these types of claims could increase too, based on the high levels of rainfall seen across the country in February. 

In terms of the cities with the least pothole-related claims since 2020, Tesco data showed that Blackpool, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Dorchester, Harrow, Kirkwall, Lancaster, Liverpool, Wakefield and Warrington were the safest areas – although it noted that this may reflect variations in customer distribution as well as road condition differences.