Liverpool New Year fire claims likely to reach £20m

The Liverpool car park fire is likely to result in claims worth £20 million being paid out to motor insurance customers, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimated today.

Yesterday, City AM reported that insurers would have to pay around £2m in car payouts alone. Now, the ABI have come out with a figure ten times that amount. 

Some payments have already been made to people who lost their car in the blaze which destroyed around 1,400 vehicles on 31 December 2017.

Some insurers have even brought in extra staff to ensure claims are dealt with as swiftly as possible. Emergency claims lines were open on New Year’s Day.

As well as getting the money to replace their vehicles, customers have also been making claims for the value of belongings which were inside them. Depending on the cover they had, some people will also be able to get money back for other transport costs.

Rob Cummings, Head of Motor and Liability at the ABI, said: “Insurance exists for just this sort of event, and insurers were working hard over the bank holiday to get on with processing people’s claims as quickly as possible. Customers affected should be reassured that insurers are expecting to pay out around £20 million to help get them back on the road.”

The motor insurance industry paid out £33 million in claims every single day in 2016 but it is highly unusual to have so many vehicles destroyed at the same time at a single location.

Cummings added: “The insurance industry pays out tens of millions of pounds every day, so while this is a very unusual event it is well within the bounds of what firms expect to deal with.”

Anyone who has lost a vehicle in the fire and has not yet made a claim is advised to contact their insurer as soon as possible.