Some pothole damage claims may never be resolved, Stirling Council officers have admitted.
Figures presented to the council’s environment and housing committee last Thursday showed a total of 189 claims were received by the authority between January, 2018, and September this year.
Of these, 104 claims were rejected and 54 settled.
Between May and September this year a total of 14 claims were lodged, all of which have still to be resolved.
In their report, officials told councillors the length of time insurance claims take to complete was dependent on the nature of the claims and resulting disputes, adding that “in some situations “claims may never be resolved”.
Having been asked for clarification by Tory councillor Alistair Berrill, they added: “The information comes from our finance and insurance service. My understanding is there can sometimes be disagreement between the claimant and insurance claims handlers and there is no agreement, just a constant battle.”
Councillor Berrill said: “In my experience sometimes they [claims handlers] can play hardball on this but some people don’t have energy or determination to take this to court.”
Land services manager David Crighton said: “All claims go down through claims handlers so it’s their guidance that will hopefully lead to a resolution.”
Tory councillor Martin Earl asked how much had been paid out on the 54 claims which had been settled, however officials said they did not have the information to hand but would request it from the insurance service.
Earlier this year the Observer reported that a Freedom of Information request, by Dunblane and Bridge of Allan councillor Alastair Majury, revealed there were 1972 potholes identified on Stirling’s roads this year, 1045 more than the previous year’s total of 927.
Stirling Council manages a road network of 632 miles, meaning that last year there were 3.1 potholes per mile of road in the authority’s area.
In the last five years, motorists alleging damage to their vehicles caused by the state of Stirling’s roads made 311 claims during the same period with cyclists making six claims.
More than £65,000 was claimed from the council between 2007 and 2017 for repairs to motors damaged by road defects.
But just £50 was paid in the 12 months to February last year. Pothole repair compensation spiked in 2011, with £19,423.92 paid out.
Since then the total has dwindled with £4633.84 in 2012, £3141.78 in 2013, £1409.63 in 2014, £1133.28 in 2015, £768 in 2016 and £661.93 in 2017.
