Reducing the Number and Costs of Whiplash Claims

Reducing the Number and Costs of Whiplash Claims
Author: Great Britain: Ministry of Justice
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 48
Release: 2012-12-11
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780101842525

Between 2006 and 2012 the number of reported road traffic accidents (RTAs) fell by around 20% yet the number of claims for personal injury arising from RTAs rose by 60%. Of these some 70% are for whiplash injuries, with 2.7 claims for such injuries being made for every accident reported. Other European countries have much lower claim rates: Germany 47%, Spain 32%, France 3%. The impact on the cost of motor insurance is significant, with £90 of the average premium stemming from the cost of whiplash injuries. The Government and the insurance industry are committed to action to reduce the cost of motor insurance and to deter fraudulent and exaggerated claims. The measures in this consultation paper look to remedy two areas where the current arrangements are imperfect: the difficulties in diagnosing the injury; and the nature and cost of the court system that can work against insurers challenging suspect claims. Diagnosis could be improved through a system of independent medical panels. In the courts, the proposals look at the small claims track threshold for personal injury claims arising from RTAs, which would provide a more cost effective route for straightforward claims and self-represented litigants. The Government also invites further ideas to address this complex issue.

Ministry of Justice: Reducing the Number and Costs of Whiplash Claims: A Government Response to Consultation on Arrangements Concerning Whiplash Injuries in England and Wales: Cost of Motor Insurance - Whiplash: A Government Response to the House of Commons Transport Committee - Cm. 8738

Ministry of Justice: Reducing the Number and Costs of Whiplash Claims: A Government Response to Consultation on Arrangements Concerning Whiplash Injuries in England and Wales: Cost of Motor Insurance - Whiplash: A Government Response to the House of Commons Transport Committee - Cm. 8738
Author: Great Britain: Department for Transport
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 50
Release: 2013-10-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780101873826

Dated October 2013. Response to Consultation paper CP17/2012, Cm. 8425 (ISBN 9780101842525) & the Transport Committee's 4th report, HC 117, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215061423)

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Cost of Motor Insurance: Whiplash - HC 117

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Cost of Motor Insurance: Whiplash - HC 117
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2013-07-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780215061423

Whiplash injuries can have debilitating consequences for those who suffer them. However, some of the increase in whiplash claims will have been due to fraud or exaggeration. The Government must tighten up the requirements for motor insurance claims and ensure that insurers honour their commitment to reduce premiums. The Government should consider requiring claimants to provide proof that they have either been seen by a doctor or attended A&E shortly after the accident. The MPs also note that their previous recommendation on making the links between insurers and other parties involved with claims more transparent has been ignored. The absence of comprehensive statistics about road traffic accidents means that it is impossible to relate the increasing number of personal injury claims in recent years to the number of accidents. Data collection about road accidents needs to be improved help to assist detection of fraudulent personal injury claims and help highways authorities improve road safety by targeting spending on accident black-spots. The Committee also supports the proposal for an accreditation scheme for medical practitioners who provide medical reports in relation to whiplash claims. Access to justice could also be impaired by Government proposals to switch whiplash claims between £1,000 and £5,000 to the small claims court, particularly for people who do not feel confident to represent themselves against insurers who will use legal professionals to contest claims. Ways in which use of the small claims track could be combined with the routine submission of expert evidence should be considered

Damages and Compensation Culture

Damages and Compensation Culture
Author: Eoin Quill
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2016-11-17
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509902058

The focus of the essays in this book is on the relationship between compensation culture, social values and tort damages for personal injuries. A central concern of the public and political perception of personal injuries claims is the high cost of tort claims to society, reflected in insurance premiums, often accompanied by an assumption that tort law and practice is flawed and improperly raising such costs. The aims of this collection are to first clarify the relationship between tort damages for personal injuries and the social values that the law seeks to reflect and to balance, then to critically assess tort reforms, including both proposals for reform and actual implemented reforms, in light of how they advance or hinder those values. Reforms of substantive and procedural law in respect of personal injury damages are analysed, with perspectives from England and Wales, Canada, Australia, Ireland and continental Europe. The essays offer valuable insights to anyone interested in the reform of tort law or the tort process in respect of personal injuries.

Delivering Dispute Resolution

Delivering Dispute Resolution
Author: Christopher Hodges
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2019-10-17
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509916903

This book reviews the techniques, mechanisms and architectures of the way disputes are processed in England and Wales. Adopting a comparative approach, it evaluates the current state of the main different types of dispute resolution systems, including business, consumer, personal injury, family, property, employment and claims against the state. It provides a holistic overview of the whole system and suggests both systemic and detailed reforms. Examining dispute resolution pathways from users' perspectives, the book highlights options such as ombudsmen, regulators, tribunals and courts as well as mediation and other ADR and ODR approaches. It maps numerous sectoral developments to see if learning might be spread to other sectors. Several recurrent themes arise, including the diversification in the use of techniques; adoption of digital, online and artificial technology; cost and funding constraints; the emergence of new intermediaries; the need to focus accessibility arrangements for people and businesses that need help with their problems; and identifying effective ways for achieving behavioural change. This timely study analyses the shift from adversarial legalism to softer means of resolving social problems, and points to a major opportunity to devise an imaginative and holistic strategic vision for the jurisdiction.

Automotive Repair Industry

Automotive Repair Industry
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly
Publisher:
Total Pages: 1596
Release: 1969
Genre: Automobiles
ISBN:

HC 285 - Driving Premiums Down: Fraud and the Cost of Motor Insurance

HC 285 - Driving Premiums Down: Fraud and the Cost of Motor Insurance
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2014-07-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0215073355

This report reviews the Government's plans to tackle fraudulent and exaggerated motor insurance claims, particularly for whiplash injuries. It is the Transport Committee's fourth report on the cost of motor insurance and, while premiums are now falling, aspects of the market remain dysfunctional and have encouraged criminality to take root. Further action is still required to tackle fraud whilst protecting genuine claimants. The Government must prohibit insurers from settling whiplash claims before the claimant has undergone a medical examination. On issues of court procedure and medical panels the Committee endorses the Government's intention to require courts to strike out 'dishonest' insurance claims (e.g. those involving gross exaggeration), but cautions against hasty legislation due to the complex legal implications. The report calls for data sharing about potentially fraudulent claims between insurers and claimant solicitors to be made compulsory rather than voluntary (as currently proposed). The Government should oversee funding arrangements for the police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, to make sure that this unit, currently funded directly by the insurance industry, has a long-term future. Government proposals for independent medical assessments are welcomed but more work is required on implementation. The Government should press the Solicitors Regulation Authority to stop some solicitors from playing the system to maximise their income by commissioning unnecessary psychological evaluations.

Automotive Repair Industry

Automotive Repair Industry
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly
Publisher:
Total Pages: 1132
Release: 1969
Genre: Automobiles
ISBN:

Justice

Justice
Author: Lord Dyson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2018-02-08
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509918825

This selection of essays, speeches and personal reflections, draws on the analysis of one of the leading lawyers of a generation. Lord Dyson as Master of the Rolls and Head of the Civil Justice System oversaw a period of reform of both law and legal process. This collection discusses some key themes of, and challenges faced during, his tenure as one of the most senior lawyers in England and Wales. Through these insightful, engaging and compelling pieces, a picture emerges of a robust system of law whose core values can be plotted back to the Magna Carta, but which is flexible enough to respond to current changes without fracturing. A truly compelling exploration of continuity and change in the law by one of its key jurists.