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MPs need to ‘grasp the nettle’ on whiplash reforms – ABI

Tahmina Mannan
Written By:
Tahmina Mannan
Posted:
Updated:
31/07/2013

The Government needs to ‘grasp the nettle’ and deliver vital reforms to tackle the UK’s whiplash epidemic, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said.

The comments follow criticism from MPs that insurance companies were not doing enough to end practices which encourage fraud and exaggeration.

In a Transport Select Committee report published today, ministers said insurance companies were often guilty of accepting claims without proper scrutiny and even before a medical evidence had been produced.

They said that some insurers paid out even in instances where fraud was suspected as this was cheaper than fighting a claim in the courts.

However, the ABI said only fundamental changes to the current system will mean that insurers can deliver further reductions in car insurance premiums for their customers.

James Dalton, head of motor insurance at the ABI, said: “The Transport Select Committee is right to identify the need to tighten up the requirements for those submitting whiplash claims. There has been a growth in recent years in claimant lawyers and claims management companies encouraging people to submit an increasing number of frivolous or exaggerated claims.

“The Committee’s report has kicked into the long grass making the tough calls for reform that are needed to help insurers combat the whiplash epidemic and deliver further premium reductions for hard-pressed motorists.”

Despite safer roads, in 2012/13 there were just under 477,000 claims for whiplash, equating to nearly one claim every minute, according to the ABI.

Whiplash now costs UK motorists over £2bn a year, adding £90 to the average premium.

The UK is considered the whiplash capital of Europe: 78% of low value motor personal injury claims are for whiplash, compared to an average of 48% throughout the rest of Europe.