It seems
that insurance companies are starting to rack up the rhetoric in their attempts
to block people’s access to legal advice in relation to motor accidents. A
report by the major insurance company AVIVA really does pull out all the stops.
They make
the staggering claim that – ‘UK drivers overwhelmingly want to
see the back of the personal injury (PI) ‘compensation culture that is now
costing every motorist an extra £118 on their annual motor insurance premium’.
Firstly
most people would accept that the so called compensation culture is a myth
dreamt up by the insurers to support their rhetoric. All of the evidence points
to a decline in the number of claims.
They make the obvious statement that most claimants want to
spend compensation on what they want and the report itself makes reference to
clearing household debts as one area where damages are spent, a small number even have the affrontery to go on holiday. The whole idea of
compensation is to make the offending party accountable for negligence. Who
says that the insurers should somehow dictate how it is spent?
Of course the whole emphasis here is to persuade drivers
that they should trust the nice insurers to deal with them directly and cut out
the nasty lawyers. Well they would say that wouldn’t they.
Independent legal advice ensures that people receive
adequate compensation i.e. all that they are entitled to, no more but certainly
no less. So why should we leave it in the hands of insurance companies who have
a duty to their shareholders to keep payments as low as possible.
Once again we are being told that depriving drivers of independent
advice would lead to a reduction in premiums. AVIVA have gone further than most
and told us how much will be saved - £60 a year, which is £5 a month. They
don’t say what happens to the rest of the £118 that they refer to!
I have said before that the vast majority of claims – 93% -
are genuine –
The focus should be on driving down the offending 7%. All lawyers
would support such moves including the need for clear independent medical
evidence to support alleged injuries.
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