Insurers tackle 'whiplash epidemic'

13/03/13

By Tom Midlane

Drivers seeking compensation for whiplash injuries would be required to complete a mandatory medical examination under new proposals put forward by British insurers.

The plans are intended to rein in the UK's "whiplash epidemic", which has seen the number of claimants rise by almost 25 per cent over the last four years, despite a fall in road accidents, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said.

Lax medical requirements mean whiplash has become "the fraud of choice" for many motorists, according to an ABI report.

Whiplash claims add an extra £90 per year to the average car insurance premium and cost the insurance industry around £2 billion annually.

More than two thirds (70 per cent) of driving-related personal injury claims are for whiplash in the UK, compared to only 47 per cent in Germany, 32 per cent in Spain and a meagre three per cent in France.

The ABI is proposing that all whiplash victims should be examined by an accredited medical expert able to prove their financial independence from the claimant's solicitors.

The medics should also consider the circumstances of the collision as opposed to just the claimant's reported symptoms, and be trained using up-to-date diagnostic techniques, the ABI said.

The small claims track threshold should also be increased from £1,000 to £5,000 for all road traffic personal injury claims as a simple and cost-effective method for resolving smaller claims.

The ABI also wants to see a fixed, independently-set level of damage awards for whiplash, and have the right to dismiss the entire claim of any motorist found exaggerating or fabricating any part of their claim.

James Dalton, the ABI's assistant director of motor and liability, said he believed the new proposals offered the "best cure" for the UK's whiplash epidemic.

"Insurers want to make it simpler and quicker for genuine whiplash claimants to get fair compensation," Mr Dalton added.

"But whiplash is notoriously difficult to diagnose, which means that for too many people it has become the fraud of choice.

"Our proposals will ensure better medical assessment of whiplash claims, offer a quick, simple way of paying genuine claims, provide certainty for claimants and compensators, and deter fraud that ends up being paid for through higher motor insurance premiums."

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