Accidents resulted in $2.65 million spent on health insurance claims last year, according to a new report.

But the Bermuda Health Council said the costs outlined in the Road Traffic Crashes: An Analysis of Health Insurance Claims 2014-16 report do not include the full impact on the health system.

“These costs exclude considerable psychological and economic losses from lost productivity and income, long-term disability and costs associated with caring for those disabled by their injuries,” it stated.

According to the Council, there were 1,400 crashes recorded by the Bermuda Police Service in 2016.

Despite an increase of 90 crashes compared to the previous year, the Council noted that the long-term trend is downwards.

“Generally we are spending less year-over-year for care received locally, and more for care received overseas.

“Claims paid for overseas care are for services, like head trauma, that we are unable to treat on island because of the severity and specialised nature of the care required.”

Ricky Brathwaite, director of Health Economics, said avoiding “these incidents and resulting injury involves a community effort and adjustments in each of our routines, habits, expectations, and outcomes”.

“The more information we have regarding the current set of crashes, the better we can make decisions about how we treat and prevent them going forward.”

And Dr Braithwaite added: “One mortality or disability caused by RTCs is one too many. It is important that we arrive to our destinations safely.

“The fabric of our communities and our reputation around the world demands it.”

According to the report, “understanding the epidemiology of road traffic injuries in Bermuda is critical to informing sustainable research and policy initiatives aimed at reducing this health crisis”.

The document, which provides the total healthcare claims recorded by local and overseas providers based on a defined set of road traffic crash descriptions, is intended to shed light on the impact of crashes, to prioritise road safety and sustain this priority for the future, ultimately leading to the reduction of risk factors and crashes.

• For the full report, click the link under “Related Media”.