Pothole damage, claim from the council or your car insurer
Pothole damage is heading into its worst season. Before you claim, know who is liable, what the latest numbers really measure and what a claim can cost your no-claims discount.
The bang comes first, then the wobble in the steering. With winter rain on the way, that moment is about to get more common.
On 26 October MotorEasy said its alloy wheel claims rose 25 per cent in the year to September, with the average claim cost up 8 per cent and now 27 per cent above 2021, as Motor Trade News reported. Some trade headlines called it a rise in pothole claims. It is one firm’s wheel cover data, not a measure of motor insurance claims.
It does point the same way as the RAC, whose patrols attended 26,048 pothole-related breakdowns in 2025, up 15 per cent on 2024.
Here is the detail worth sitting with. A council is not automatically liable for a pothole. GOV.UK explains how to claim from whoever looks after the road, but councils can defend a claim by showing they followed a reasonable system of inspection and repair.
Your own insurer is quicker, if you have comprehensive cover. The catch is the no-claims discount. When Which? reviewed 66 car insurance policies in November 2025, a pothole claim would reduce the discount on 60 of them, and only 22 of those would restore it if the insurer recovered its costs from the council.
So the order matters. Photograph the pothole with something for scale, note the exact location, time and direction of travel, and get a written repair estimate. Report the defect to the council straight away, and if it refuses your claim, ask for its inspection records. A pothole it knew about and left unrepaired is the strongest case you can have.
Tell your insurer about the incident even if you do not claim, because insurers generally expect to be told.
For a repair bill close to your excess, the council is usually the better first call.