Vehicles in Luton Airport fire ‘unlikely’ salvageable as insurance update issued

Luton Airport has warned it is “unlikely” that any vehicles will be salvageable after a large fire ripped through one of its car parks.

In a statement released yesterday (15 October 2023), the airport said it was assessing the situation and working with the ABI to see if personal possessions can be retrieved.

The fire broke out in the terminal two car park last week (10 October 2023) and caused the multi-storey building to collapse.

Luton Airport said it had provided the Motor Insurers’ Bureau with the registration details of 1,405 vehicles affected.

The majority of these have now been passed to individual insurers.

“Regrettably, it is unlikely that any vehicles in the car park will be salvageable,” the airport said.

“However, this is still in the process of being assessed. We are working with the ABI – on behalf of the many insurance companies – to establish whether it will be possible to safely retrieve any personal possessions and, if so, how this process may work.”

Customer queries

Last week (11 October 2023), the ABI has said it was “too early” to estimate how much the Luton Airport car park fire would cost insurers as they deal with claims over the next few days.

Luton Airport, which urged all customers affected to notify their insurance company as soon as possible, said it had responded to almost 16,500 customer queries.

“Dealing with such a large volume of inquiries, while an investigation is ongoing, has naturally extended our response times,” it said.

”Our team have been tirelessly working around the clock to keep customers informed of developments.”

Several insurers have told Insurance Times that in order to help consumers, they would be waiving excesses and ensure that no claims discounts would not be impacted.

“Owners of vehicles caught up in this fire will naturally be very concerned,” the ABI added.

“Comprehensive and third-party fire and theft motor insurance policies will cover fire damage.

“We will continue to work with our members and Luton Airport to understand the situation, as and when more information becomes available.”