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Car Insurance Premiums Up by 26% Thanks to Fraudulent Whiplash Claims

A new report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown that car insurance premiums for drivers have risen by more than 26% in the last year. April alone saw a 6.3% rise and experts are pointing the finger firmly at fraudulent whiplash claims as one of the main contributing factors.

Undoubtedly, there are other considerations to take into account, such as rising legal costs. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) insists that insurers want to pay compensation to claimants more quickly than the current system allows. However, fraudulent whiplash claims also have their part to play in this equation, as the ABI notes that, “Government figures have shown that, for personal injury claims under �£10,000, for every �£1 paid in compensation, a further 76 pence is paid in legal costs. And the smaller the claim, the more disproportionate these costs are.” In effect, it is not necessarily the volume of fraudulent whiplash claims that are made. It is the associated costs of pursuing these claims and the compensation that is paid out that is increasing the cost of premiums for careful motorists.

A further study by the AA has provided more evidence to support this theory. According to their statistics although the UK has fewer accidents than most of Europe it has the highest rate of personal injury and whiplash claims. These disproportionate figures add credence to the conclusions drawn by the ONS and the ABI. According to the AA survey, 57% of lawyers dealing with whiplash claims as a result of road accidents had noticed an increase in the number of claimants faking their injuries in order to make a claim over the last 10 years.

Bucking the system

The AA has since calculated that around �£66 of a driver’s insurance premiums is used to fund personal injury claims. “It’s a sad fact that whiplash claims have become notorious for being a ‘quick route’ to compensation success,” says Nicholas Jervis, managing director at specialist solicitors 1stClaims. “The problem that the medical and insurance community have faced is that there has been no clear definition as to what constitutes a whiplash injury until recently. As a result, more unscrupulous claimants have been bucking the system, forcing honest drivers to carry the cost,” he adds.

Faking whiplash is not difficult. The symptoms are often invisible and can only be described by the patient. The AA’s study revealed that if a claimant has a doctor’s note, then claims under �£2,000 are rarely challenged by firms. The result is an indirect tax on honest drivers. “When times are hard, people fall to less honest methods to make their money,” said Ian Crowder, an AA spokesman.

Further repercussions

In addition to the associated legal costs and an increase in the number of fraudulent whiplash claims there are also further repercussions for drivers as a whole. For a long time premiums were kept artificially low, as increased competition in the insurance market saw firms vying for custom. Despite pressure on insurance firms to raise premiums as the result of excessive whiplash claims, insurers were reluctant to price themselves out of a fiercely competitive marketplace. However, since the increase in fraudulent whiplash claims has reached almost epidemic proportions, they are now forced to reflect the higher risks and costs in higher insurance premiums. The overriding factor in forcing insurers to increase their premiums was the release of figures from the Department of Transport showing a discrepancy between the number of accidents occurring in the UK and the sharp rise in the number of whiplash claims.

“Those DOT numbers really brought it home to a lot of people that fraudulent whiplash claims were costing the country millions of pounds every year, not just in compensation claim payments, but as an additional burden to everyone’s insurance premiums,” explains Nicholas. “But I think we’re finally beginning to see a combined effort between the insurance companies, the Police and the courts as well as the medical profession to reign in some of the extravagance of previous years. Hopefully, we’ll be able to work together to minimise the number of fraudulent claims in the future and get back to a situation where honest motorists don’t end up being penalised for the actions of dishonest fraudsters,” he concludes.

You Need To Know More Vital Information About Whiplash?

For more vital information that you really should know please download our free Essential Guide To Whiplash. It will tell you:

What "No Win No Fee" really means and how to ensure you do not get caught out
Whether a Claims Company or a Solicitor is the right choice for you
What does it mean if you have Legal Expense Insurance (and do you have to use the solicitor that they tell you too if you do not want to)?
How to obtain private treatment for your injuries at no cost to you
How to quickly obtain a replacement car or motorcycle if you need to
Why accepting an offer directly from the other driver's insurance company could cost you thousands of pounds and lead to longterm injury problems

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