Direct Line, the FTSE 250 insurer, swung to an annual loss for 2022, taking a hit from its biggest ever amount of claims relating to bad weather and the rising cost of repairing cars.
The December big freeze was the biggest driver of £149 million in weather-related claims, with the £95 million in claims from the cold snap alone more than the total of £73 million the company budgeted for the whole of the year. It was the most Direct Line paid out for weather-related claims since it listed on the London stock market over a decade ago.
