Aviva finds whiplash adds £118 to each premium

Aviva research has revealed that whiplash claims now add £118 to every motor premium.

The insurer’s study also showed that insurers could strip out £1.5bn of excess cost by handling claims directly.

The report also shows that 94% of drivers blame third parties for increased premiums. The insurer found that most UK drivers want to see an end to a perceived personal injury compensation culture.

The research, called Road to Reform: Reducing Motor Premiums by Reforming the Personal Injury Claims Process, contains Aviva’s plans to improve the motor insurance personal injury claims system and cut out costs that have led to rising motor premiums.

Aviva claims director Dominic Clayden said: “Our primary concerns are that injured parties receive care and compensation as quickly as possible and that all motorists benefit from a reduction in the excessive costs that have built up in claims over the past few years. We are campaigning for a more efficient system that removes the ‘interested parties’ and requires people to deal directly with the insurer of the at-fault party.”

Aviva’s main points are:

• A law to make personal injury claimants to contact the at-fault insurer rather than going to an intermediary
• Having an independent medical panel to assess whiplash cases and focus on rehabilitation

The insurer said that the proposed new law would halve the cost of each claim, and that this would mean cheaper motor premiums.

Aviva’s research said that there is no difference in the compensation given if claims are handled directly or via third parties. But the insurer said that third parties

The research of over 2000 drivers revealed that almost 2 in 3 (63%) think that people seek compensation to get money to spend on whatever they choose rather than rehabilitation.

This view is supported by Aviva’s research of almost 400 UK drivers who have made a PI claim, which found that only 33% of people spent their cash compensation on medical treatment or physiotherapy, others said it was used to pay off household debt (29%), to buy luxury items such as TVs (12%) or to go on holiday (9%). 

The research added that 95% of UK motorists said premium increases were driven by pointless claims, while 94% blamed the involvement of third parties and 93% the rise in whiplash claims. 

The changes that the majority of motorists back are:

• No cash compensation for minor motor accidents where no-one was injured - simply the insurance cover for the cost of repairing the vehicle (85%)
• A preference for insurers giving access to rehabilitation, not cash compensation (55%)
• A ban on excessive legal fees (69%) and the unnecessary involvement of lawyers or claims management companies (67%)
• Independent medical advisers not connected to the person making the claim to assess injuries (59%)
• Tighter regulation on how claims management companies and personal injury lawyers market their services (95%)