The number of personal injury claims increased in 2011 despite a fall in car accidents and could be to blame for rising insurance premiums.
A report from the Actuarial Profession has shown that while road accidents fell by 11%, the number of people filing for personal injury claims went up by 18%.
Actuaries claims that this could be costing the insurance industry up to £400 million per year. This in turn could see car owners’ insurance premiums increase as companies look to fill the financial void.
The Government is currently considering introducing new legislation to try to halt the culture of personal injury claims. It is planning new laws to limit how much money a law firm can make from ‘no win no fee’ cases.
At the same time it will also be looking ways to stop lawyers in these cases claiming fees from the losing side. The lawyers would instead receive a share of any damages they win for the claimant.
These new laws will also attempt stop insurance companies, recovery vehicles and other companies from being allowed to pass on drivers’ details after they’ve been involved in a crash – an issue revealed by Parkers.co.uk last year.
The increasing cost of fuel, and in turn less journeys, was one of the main factors attributed to the lower percentage of accidents. The personal injury claims included many for whiplash, another issue that MPs are trying to keep under control by pressuring insurance companies into tackling fake claims.
