Backlash on fake claims: Five-minute guide to the rise in motor injury payouts

TWO THIRDS of motorists have been cold-called by personal injury claim firms in the past year as the compensation culture goes into overdrive.

Driver suffering from whiplashALAMY•PIC POSED BY MODEL

Accidents do happen and they can be a pain in the neck

One in three received more than 10 calls reflecting the sharp increase in the number of claims for whiplash and other minor injuries, according to new research from AA Insurance.

Now the insurer is calling on politicians to launch a fresh clampdown on "no win no fee" claims firms.

Honest drivers should welcome the move as they ultimately foot the bill for spurious insurance claims.

WHAT IS DRIVING CLAIMS

Personal injury claims have soared to 71,000 a month, despite recent Ministry of Justice reforms designed to curb dodgy claims.

Stephen Gaywood, insurance counterfraud director at the AA, says: "These unscrupulous claims firms are getting hold of customer data from somewhere and it is not from insurers.

"No doubt their pushy tactics lead many people to make claims they otherwise would not even consider."

Too many people see insurance fraud as an easy way of making money.

AA figures show that an alarming one in 10 motorists says making a claim for compensation is justified, even if they have not suffered an injury.

Nevertheless, 95 per cent of Britons consider the calls "to be a nuisance" and want the Government to ban them.

MAKING FALSE CLAIMS

Whiplash and other claims cost motorists £2.5 billion a year, according to insurer Aviva, adding £93 to the average insurance premium.

The insurer says that 80 per cent of claims it received last year included whiplash, a far higher figure than in most European countries.

Maurice Tulloch, Aviva's chief executive for UK and Ireland general insurance, says: "One of the reasons for the high number of whiplash claims is the huge financial incentives for the claims management firms and personal injury lawyers who submit them."

An incredible 96 per cent of personal injury claims Aviva received last year came through claims firms and solicitors.

The authorities continue to fight a long-running battle with the whiplash fraudsters.

From April a new medical reporting panel called MedCo will force claimants to see an independent doctor, rather than one chosen by their solicitor, in the hope of deterring people who are not genuinely injured.

Derek Barnes, motor claims expert at insurer Zurich, says: "The panel should provide better quality medical evidence to help insurers set compensation and break the financial links between medical consultants and claims firms."

He says other types of car fraud must also be tackled, such as "crash for cash" gangs staging accidents to make fraudulent personal injury claims for tens of thousands of pounds.

The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department has arrested more than 1,000 people for insurance fraud since being formed just four years ago.

PUT A STOP TO COLD CALLS

Martin Milliner, claims director at insurer LV=, says the big problem is that many people see a whiplash claim as easy money.

"If you switch on daytime TV, you will see hundreds of adverts asking if you have ever been in an accident and encouraging you to make a claim.

"What they do not tell you is that if you are not genuinely injured you are committing fraud and if caught risk criminal conviction and possible imprisonment."

LV= recently challenged a claimant who had been told there was money "waiting to be awarded to him" for his alleged injuries.

Milliner says: "He thought he was going to get £1,000 for doing very little, but lost the case and had to pay £5,000 court costs."

Milliner says you can stem the flow of spam texts and cold calls, many coming from outside the UK. "We suggest you text 7726 to your mobile network to alert them to spam and think carefully before ticking any marketing boxes when using a new firm."

Registering your phone number with the Telephone Preference Service and reporting cold calls to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk may also help.

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