Car dealers are failing to capitalise on the opportunity provided by the growing number of accident write-offs.

Nearly 12% of crashes over the past year resulted in at least one vehicle being written-off, according to new research by Accident Exchange.

Analysis of 40,000 collisions handled by the accident management firm indicates that in UK the number of write-offs topped 257,000* in just 12 months – at a cost of £1,968,610,160**.

Despite the numbers involved, dealerships rarely provide adequate post-accident care or capitalise on the sales opportunity following a total loss – invaluable leads potentially worth billions of pounds.

Liz Fisher, Sales Director at Accident Exchange, said:  “Dealers often don’t have a plan to provide the necessary follow-up calls when a customer has had an accident. In fact they sometimes never even find out.

“As the first port of call for tens of thousands of drivers after an accident, the post-accident leads we provide dealers have become an invaluable source of additional revenue, allowing them to offer better customer service and sell more cars.”

New car owners, who might be expected to be particularly careful with their vehicles, are surprisingly susceptible; more than two percent of vehicles written-off – over 5,000 – are less than 12-months old.

The new investigation highlights a clear summer-winter divide in the frequency of serious accidents which result in at least one vehicle being written-off. 

November sees more insurance write-offs than any other month, with the final quarter of the year notching up 30 percent of the annual total. Summer months – May, June and July – see the fewest total losses.