Whiplash compensation should be witheld until evidence is established, insurers argue
Industry News : 26 April 2012
Compensation for whiplash claims have been called to be witheld by the body representing the insurance industry until ‘objective evidence’ of injury has been established.
The government has been urged by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to take tough action to tackle the growing numbers of whiplash claims. ABI’s head of motor and liability James Dalton argued for a cap on the level of damages for whiplash claims at today’s Lyons Davidson international whiplash conference in Bristol. In addition, Dalton also advocated a panel of independent doctors to assess neck injuries, rather than use the claimant’s GP.
This Spring, the ABI and its members will meet the government for discussions on reform, with the prime minister having previously expressed that he is in favour of renovating the system currently in place.
Dalton stated: ‘The fact that whiplash is virtually impossible to disprove means that for too many it has become the fraud of choice, often aided and abetted by ambulance-chasing lawyers and claims management firms. The crackdown on our whiplash epidemic has started with the government’s reform of civil litigation which will reduce the scope for “have a go” claims. But we also need to consider radical action if we are to get a grip on whiplash.’
The ABI has announced that whiplash claims are costing insurers more than £2 billion per year from an average of 57,000 claims. As a result of this, motorists are having an average of £90 added per year to their insurance premiums.
The approaching summit will again raise accusations that the government is biased towards the insurance industry. At a conference last week, ABI director Nick Starling denied that his group had too much political influence, stating, ‘We know our job [as lobbyists] and we know how to get in there….This myth that we get unprecedented access to [justice minister] Jonathan Djanogly is exactly that: a myth.’