Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

Insurance giants saved around £15 million as a result of Northamptonshire's motorists staying off the road during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Comparison site hello-safe.co.uk estimate fewer cars meant fewer accidents and fewer payouts as drivers stayed home between March 23 and May 31.

And they totted up an eye-watering £100 million in just 77 days stayed in insurance firms' pockets nationwide.

In Northampton alone, insurers would have set aside enough cash to pay out more than £6m in claims.

Instead, bills for damaged, stolen and written off vehicles came to an estimated £1.7 million — a £4.3 million saving.

Across the whole of Northamptonshire, the savings seen by insurance companies soared to a whopping £15 million.

Hello-safe.co.uk chief executive Antoine Fruchard said: “Because the car-related claims dramatically plummeted, we could see the car insurance industry saved there a lot of money during the lockdown.

The M1 in Northamptonshire emptied of vehicles during the Covid-19 lockdown

"For example, in Northampton, those savings accounts for about £4,440,000 during the whole period — which is a lot.

"It is likely that customers will question why they continued to pay such high insurance premiums while they weren’t able to drive.

"While some insurance companies have already made refunds, it has been seen premiums have decreased by an average of £47 between March and June, which proves that the competition is hard between the major motor insurers.”

Admiral was the first car insurance company to announce £25 refunds for each of its customers while average premiums have fallen by around eight per cent in the East Midlands.

Here's how much car insurance companies are estimated to have saved across the East Midlands. Graphic: hello-safe.co.uk

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the highest standards in the world. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you.

Car insurers saved millions during the lockdown but will Northamptonshire's drivers see the benefit?