Insured Losses From London Estimated at $323M

After several nights of chaos in London and around the UK, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) updated its estimate of the total cost of insured losses to be over $323 million (£200 million). Given the scale of damages, the ABI has requested to extend relevant claims request periods from the standard 14 days to the maximum 42 days.

“It is too early for us to have an accurate picture of total costs, especially business interruption costs, but insurers are expecting significant losses, in excess of £200 million,” Nick Starling, director of General Protection and Health at ABI, said in a statement.

Yesterday, research from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) attempted to breakdown claims that insurers covering retail losses could be facing a total bill of nearly $230 million (£141 million) – making the tab roughly $57 million (£35.2 million) per riotous night.

The CRR’s report claims losses of $130 million (£80 million) have already been incurred due to forced closures and shoppers avoiding tumultuous areas. Take into account looted goods ($28.3 million, £17.4 million) and anticipated repairs ($70.7 million, £43.5 million) on top of the lost sales, and the bill begins approaching a quarter of a billion dollars (£141 million).

If the tumult lasts into the weekend, the CRR report projects damages to climb past $635 million (£392 million).