This is according to Stefan Elks, head of retail claims operations at Axa, who, during the latest Insurance Post Podcast, shared the motor insurance policy purchase and claims trends the insurer is already seeing as a result of double-digit inflation.

During the podcast, which is titled How the cost-of-living crisis is impacting motor insurance, Elks said Axa's telematics proposition was showing that some customers are now driving around in damaged vehicles they don’t want to report at the time of an accident, and the provider is receiving more third-party reports before claims from their own policyholders.

When asked what was causing the delays, Elks said: “It is very anecdotal at the moment, but it could be to avoid paying an excess cost. It is very hard to pinpoint just yet, but obviously as time moves on we will receive more data and be able to do more analytics.”

Kajal Vakas, senior manager of claims at Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions, Insurance UK and Ireland, was asked whether sales of breakdown cover could increase as motorists realise they need to maintain their current vehicle as they can’t afford to buy a replacement in the current economic climate.

Vakas said 2000 UK motorists have vehicles that are more than 10 years old, and for those drivers breakdown cover could prove essential.

However, she added that breakdown cover may prove a luxury for some who have had to dip into savings to carry on driving and working as inflation soars.

During the podcast Elks, Vakas and Nick Kelsall, head of motor claims at Allianz Commercial, also discuss whether the current state of people's finances could result in a shift to pay-per-mile products and reveal how insurers are already seeing more fraudulent claims.

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