Total Motion managing director calls for reform of entire motor insurance claims market

The managing director of vehicle management company Total Motion has called for reform of the entire motor insurance industry to make it harder for motorists to make minor whiplash claims.

Simon Hill wants to see a complete clamp down on compensation pay-outs for all non-serious road accident injuries.

He said: “The whole insurance industry needs to be reformed so that whiplash and other non-serious minor claims are much harder to see through.

“Currently law-abiding motorists are bearing the cost of inflated compensation claims through higher motor insurance premiums.

“It is also time that lawyers and ambulance chasers were given a fixed cost tariff of what they can charge when pursuing personal injury claims for motorists.”

Hill's comments come in the wake of a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) consultation on proposals designed to reform the personal injury and ancillary claims sectors.

Concentrating not just on whiplash but all soft tissue injuries resulting from a road traffic accident, the reforms, if made law, would see a radical shake-up of the personal injury claims market.

The MoJ is focusing in particular on what defines a minor soft tissue injury and whether this definition should be linked to the length of time a claimant suffers symptoms.

One proposal under consideration suggests scrapping the ability for people to recover damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (known as PSLA) for minor soft tissue injuries.

Claims for special damages, which cover loss of earnings, care and rehabilitation could still be submitted along with a medical report, as is currently the case. However, in future, claimants might also have to provide medical evidence to clarify the duration of their symptoms. 

A second proposal recommends introducing a fixed compensation pay out of £400 – or £425 if there are psychological injuries – for minor soft injury claims.

It also suggests introducing a tariff for those injuries which go beyond the definition of “minor” and give rise to symptoms lasting for up to two years.  In such cases the maximum amount payable in compensation would be £3,500, rising to £3,600 where the claimant also has psychological injuries.