The cost of car insurance is set to be investigated for a fourth time this summer, as the House of Commons Transport Select Committee, promise to once more probe the industry to attempt to come up with further reasons for the high cost of premiums.
Last July, the TSC published a report which pretty much brought an end to the Government’s consideration over whether to increase the small claims limit for whiplash cases and it is believed that the follow up will take a look at the progress of accredited whiplash panels, which are expected to be in place by October.
Liverpool MP, Louise Ellman, who revealed to the Liverpool Law Society conference last week of the plans for the report, said: “We’re trying to look at the issue of access to justice while reducing fraud.”
Despite the prospect of the new report providing optimism for the personal injury industry, who still believes there are more reasons than claim numbers contributing to high premium prices, Ellman did go on to say that the Government may choose to revisit plans for an increase to the small claims limit.
She, as do the personal injury industry on a whole, believes that this would be detrimental to the claims process and would mean justice would be, as she put it, ‘impaired; if insurers were able to argue their case with experts, against claimants without legal representation or expertise.
Ellman, did back the Government plans to remove damages altogether if a claimant is found to have been dishonest, saying: “If there is a deliberate attempt to grossly exaggerate a claim, perhaps the claim could all be struck out, not just a bit of it.”
The personal injury industry will look forward to the findings of the latest report and will be hopeful that it will go further to providing claimants with more support in their fight to keep their rights to access to justice and prove that all is not as it seems, when it comes to the real reasons behind hiked insurance premium prices.