Insurance cost of Selby could be £100m

An expert is warning that the Selby rail crash could cost the insurance industry £100m and make it more expensive to travel .

Christian Wells, an insurance specialist with London law firm Lovells, believes the travelling public will pick up the final bill for the tragedy.

This could mean higher rail fares at a time when train operators are desperately trying to persuade commuters to return to the rail network after last year's Hatfield crash.

Wells says the claims resulting from Selby will be very complex, ranging from loss of life to damage to property. Less obvious claimants could include the power station owners, whose fuel supplies have been disrupted by the crash.

He believes the final bill for the insurance industry could be around £100m.

Wells told the media : "It depends on how much personal accident and other sorts of cover the people killed and injured have got. Coming soon after Hatfield, it means considerable losses to the insurance industry".

He says the most effective way for insurance companies to get the money back is to increase premiums.

Wells says this cost will then be passed on to the travelling public, he says, unless other commercial pressures stop rail companies putting their prices up.

Earlier, the company which provides insurance for Gary Hart, the Land Rover driver who sparked off the disaster, said it could cover the cost.

If claims against the Fortis Insurance company go ahead, they are expected to amount to the biggest case in British car insurance history.