Ministers call for action over whiplash cases - Car Rental News
Ministers call for action over whiplash cases
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Car Rental News - 12/01/2012
MPs have said action must be taken to prevent a spike in whiplash claims from driving up insurance premiums.
The call came this week via the Transport Select Committee, which has said that those claiming to have suffered whiplash in road accidents should be required to show proof of their injuries.
The Committee has also called on the Government to move to ban completely the sale of customer information to third parties. A ban on the sale of data regarding personal injury claimants is already in the works but the Transport Select Committee says it needs to be extended to cover all customer information.
Louise Ellman, chair of the committee, said in addition to claimants that insurers, claims management firms and solicitors’ practices were also to blame for the recent jump in insurance costs. She said that all organisations in the industry should “abandon sharp practices” to provide relief for struggling consumers.
Motor insurance claims have increased by a whopping 70 per cent over the last six years, the Committee noted, which comes despite an impressive 23 per cent drop in road accident-related deaths over the same period. Among all personal injury claims, a full 70 per cent were whiplash cases.
Meanwhile, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said it is in agreement that a ban on the sale of customer information to third parties was necessary, but said that this should include all involved parties instead of just insurers.
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