March is the worst month for pothole damage

Councils across England will get additional funding to help tackle potholes

March is the worst month for pothole damage
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Workshops should prepare for surge in the number of repair jobs related to damage caused by potholes.

This comes as new data from Admiral reveals March is the worst month for potholes claims, with more than double the number of claims compared to September, which sees the lowest number of incidents.

Admiral car insurance data also reveals the amount of pothole claims has increased by a third (34 percent) since 2016, as Brits battle with uneven roads across the UK.

Late winter sees the highest number of claims with more than a third (36 percent) taking place between January and March – more than any other time of year – as temperatures drop below freezing causing cracks to widen in the road surface.

Claims are at their lowest between September and November with these autumnal months seeing just 17 percent of claims.

The average cost of pothole damage has also increased by 16 percent since last year, according to Admiral’s data, likely linked to higher tech vehicles and a general increase in the cost of repairs.

As part of the Spring Budget, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a £200m boost in funding to fix potholes across England. This increases the funding to £700m in the 2023/24 financial year.

Lorna Connelly, head of claims at Admiral, said: “We see more claims for pothole related damage in March than any other month, and with forecasters predicting a possible severe weather event at the start of the month similar to the one which caused the 2018 ‘Beast from the East’, this year is unlikely to be an exception.

”Cold weather conditions like these increase the chance of potholes so claims could be even higher than previous years.

“Our data from the last six years reveal that January, February and March are the worst time of year for pothole claims, with over 36 percent of claims we receive made during these months. In fact, pothole related claims are 43 percent higher in these months than on average, as road surfaces become unsettled by colder temperatures.”

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