Road traffic accidents down, personal injury claims up?

News last week that road traffic accidents are down by 11 per cent but personal injury claims are up by 18 per cent will come as no great surprise to many. The figures, which of course originate from the insurance industry itself, will undoubtedly be used by the government, FOIL and the ABI as further evidence that the personal injury branch of the legal profession is out of control.

The insurance industry is a powerful and organised lobby which may as well have written the Jackson Report, and pushed hard for its implementation. The so-called claimant lobby is less powerful, less organised and often portrayed in the media as self-serving and only concerned with fees and profits.

It is unfortunate that we, as personal injury lawyers, do not assist our cause or help our own reputation  which is rapidly descending to that which now plagues the banking industry   and is also largely of our own making. We now have the weakest necks in Europe and the combination of the amount of compensation claimed by victims, together with lawyers fees, is allegedly driving up the cost of motor insurance premiums across the board. 

Cheapening the profession

Relentless TV advertising cheapens the profession and reduces us to no more than debt collectors obtaining what is due. This is combined with aggressive marketing, through cold calls, emails and texts and is arguably bringing this sector of the profession into disrepute.

Such largely intrusive and unwelcome calls and texts almost invariably lead to high volume/low value claims. These are then placed on a conveyor belt which churns out computer-generated letters from unqualified paralegals. In turn, these are then mangled through the automated RTA portal which, itself generates further fill in the gaps precedent letters with no thought or analysis.  These low value claims then inevitably settle at the first vaguely reasonable Part 36 offer from a defendant insurer.

Two recent developments herald change  but not for the better. First, claims management companies, which are now looking at new ways to secure income in a post-Jackson referral fee-free era, are aggressively marketing potential claims for solicitor negligence in under-settling PI claims. 

Secondly, the number of personal injury claims has been fuelled by the recent surge in third-party capture.  Insurance companies are increasingly contacting victims directly following an accident, often within hours, and offering cash sums - often several hundred pounds - to settle the claim over the phone with no evidence as to the extent of any injury or whether, in fact, there is any injury at all.

Banning television advertising

The pursuit of the fast buck will benefit a few financially, but the country as a whole is a lesser place because of it, not least because those who need to seek legal or financial redress for genuine claims fear getting tarred with the same brush as the crash-for-cash brigade.

A new approach is needed: one which bans all TV advertising and unsolicited contact from either claims management companies or insurance companies. People with genuine injuries will always be able to find appropriate assistance with a reputable firm and the public will be better served for it.