£11.9bn in claims highlights rising cost of even minor collisions

Fresh data from the Association of British Insurers shows how the cost of fleet incidents is increasing, even where volumes remain stable.

Motor insurers paid out £11.9bn in claims in 2025, with £7.5bn linked to vehicle damage across 2.5 million claims.

The underlying issue isn't just frequency but severity and repair complexity.

Modern vehicles, particularly EVs, are more expensive to repair due to advanced sensors, cameras and high-value components. This is increasing both repair costs and vehicle downtime following even relatively minor incidents. For instance, last week FleetWise reported on the high volume of EV write-offs after minor incidents due to repair difficulty and expense. 

For fleets, this changes the risk profile.

Collisions that would previously have been manageable are now driving:
– higher repair bills
– longer off-road time
– increased insurance pressure

The data reinforces a shift already being seen across fleet operations.
Reducing incident frequency is becoming critical, not just for safety, but for cost control.

As highlighted in this week’s interview with Alan Thompson, most incidents still come down to driver behaviour. In a higher-cost environment, those behaviours carry greater financial impact.

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