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30 January 2012
The main reason for the inflated cost of car insurance is due to the current high number of whiplash injury claims, a Transport Committee report concludes.
The cost of some car insurance policies was found to have risen by as much as 17% in the last year. The report into this by the House of Commons Transport Committee, published on 12 January 2012, concluded that the main reason was down to the number of whiplash-related personal injury claims, which now total 570,000 a year.
The report stated that the diagnosis of whiplash injuries is often subjective and that claimants should have to provide more objective evidence of their injury. They said: ‘we are not convinced that a diagnosis unsupported by any further evidence of injury or personal inconvenience arising from the injury should be sufficient for a claim to be settled.’
The committee also called for urgent action to cut the amount of compensation paid to people who claim they suffered whiplash in car accidents and for insurance companies to challenge more of these claims.
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), however, was keen to highlight the plight of genuine claimants. They responded to the report, stating:
‘…the priority must be for innocent victims of genuine injury, including whiplash injuries, to have access to the full and fair compensation they need. Whiplash injuries can be extremely painful and can often linger, leaving some people with chronic conditions…
It is time for the needs of vulnerable injured victims to take precedence over those whose negligence causes needless injury in the first place.’
Tinsdills Solicitors have a specialised personal injury department, headed up by Partner Tim Cogan. He stated:
‘In our experience injured people are often very reluctant to pursue a claim and the current media storm suggesting that many claimants are putting forward false claims will only make matters worse. This ‘compensation culture’ has been created by the media without any thought for genuine victims. If insurers have any doubts as to the legitimacy of any claim there are already procedures in place in the claims process by which they can make those challenges. There is no need to do it through the media. Our focus as a firm is on our clients and on ensuring that they gain fair compensation for their injury.’
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