Reduction in Damages for Whiplash

[dls]

There is announced today a way of (allegedly) bringing down car insurance premiums by making life more difficult for PI claimants

Well, I do think that a distrust for insurers is natural and proper. I tend toward the miner type of scepticism, but transferred to insurers from lawyers. This may be strange because I come from a family of insurers (actuaries / Prudential), but my experience of them in practice as a lawyer did not suggest that a great respect was due.

Equally it is quite right to say that there have been substantial numbers of fraudulent and or exaggerated claims over several years.

Somewhere a balance has to be found. I am far mor elikely to be paying car insurance premiums than to be claiming for personal injury, but I cannot see any possibility that the insurance companies will not pocket as much as they can of any savings.

[Hairyloon]

On the subject of bringing down insurance premiums, considering the increasing popularity of dash-cams, why is there not more encouragement for people to send in footage of dangerous drivers so that those drivers can have their insurance appropriately adjusted?

[dls]

It is worth noting that, as usual the figures upin which the proposition is based are, to say the least flawed.

They suggest a huge increase in claims over the last ten years, but then forget to mention a very substantial reduction in claims ove rthe last three years. Savings from these claims have not been passed back by insurers.

[atticus]

... Notwithstanding their promises to do so.

[dls]

It has now been said that INsurance companies may save as much as £200m a year from te proposed reforms.

[dls]

It appears that the figures upon which the proposals are based are now admitted to be out of date.

[inflato]

Unfortunately the whole area of PI and in particular whiplash , has had a liberal amount of exposure in the gutter press with talk of exagerated and fraudulent claims.

The truth is that without the negilgence of another, there would be no PI claim. To support a PI claim a qualified medical practitioner is engaged to produce a report.

I think whiplash PI claims should not be clamped or controlled. Let the genuine claims be processed fairly and let the fraudulent pones be detected and brought to justice. Hike up the insurance of those who bring about PI due to negligence and maybe they will be more attentive in future.

[diy]

or more likely to drive without insurance?

Dash cams will increasingly be built in to new cars as self drive capability improves

[dls]

There is here an element of logic which the insurers fail to acknowledge.

They assert that there are a large number of fraudulent claims. This is one of those questions where the proper reply is to ask 'How do you.indeed can you know?' The simple truth must be that if they know that a claim is fraudulent they should not pay it, and if they do not pay it then the losses are minimal. If they do not know that it is fraudulent, then they do not know that it is fraudulent - end of story.

[diy]

They may strongly suspect fraud but be unable to provide sufficient proof to take the risk.