Traffic accidents cost insurers €64,852,888 last year, according to data given in parliament by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana.

He told Adrian Delia (PN) in reply to a written question that the total claims, including motor vehicle liabilities, reported as Gross Claims Incurred reached  €64,852,888.

The Gross Claims Incurred were €63,291,020 in 2021 and €69,368,30 in 2022.

Asked about the total of paid-out claims last year, the minister said that information is no longer given by insurance companies, in line with new accounting standards.

Earlier this year the National Statistics Office reported that during the fourth quarter of 2023, road traffic accidents and casualties increased by 4.2 and 12.1 per cent respectively when compared to the same period in 2022.

It had also previously reported increases in traffic accidents for the first, second and third quarters of 2023 compared to 2022 although casualties in the second and third quarters were down.

28 people died on Maltese roads in 2022, making that year the deadliest on record for traffic accidents.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that 26 people had died on Maltese road in 2022