Government to crack down on whiplash claims
Monday, 06 February 2012 10:57
The Government is to examine ways to cut the number of whiplash cases which, it claims, are driving up the price of car insurance.
Transport secretary Justine Greening will meet with justice secretary Ken Clarke, home secretary Theresa May, business secretary Vince Cable and health secretary Andrew Lansley to discuss the situation, while Prime Minister David Cameron will later set up a wider review.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Ms Greening said that Britain is now the whiplash capital of Europe, with more than 1,500 claims a day.
“The cost of car insurance is bearing increasingly little relationship to the real world where motorists act more responsibly than ever and accidents really do happen less often,” she said.
“With this in mind, it would be reasonable to expect premiums to come down, or at least hold steady. But the cost of cover continues on a relentless climb.”
Ms Greening said the she recognised a link between premiums and referral fees in some personal injury cases.
“From cold-calling drivers involved in accidents, to running high-profile advertising campaigns, lawyers are encouraging people to claim for whiplash injuries sustained in the most minor of incidents,” the transport secretary said.
But she added insurers must play their part.
“Premiums are not simply the price of an insurance policy, they are a contract of mutual responsibility and insurers must live up to their side of the bargain,” she said.
“It is time for them to get a grip and put their houses in order.”
Nick Starling, director of general insurance at the Association of British Insurers, said: “The Government must now push ahead with its reforms to civil litigation to tackle high costs and fraud.”
In January, the transport select committee called for a higher threshold before payouts for whiplash are made.
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