Sir,

Car insurance companies have given their customers another price hike. I wonder how many times the industry will manage to get its excuses in early before the facts about the cost of injury claims are given some real attention.

The Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) own data shows that the cost of all bodily injury claims to insurers has fallen 13 per cent since legal costs in the system were stripped back five years ago. The savings equate to billions of pounds which were never passed on to motorists. Meanwhile, other factors such as the cost of repairs and insurance premium tax have rocketed.

In the last year, the number of neck, back and whiplash injury claims has fallen by 10 per cent. Those injuries classified as “other” have increased, but I must point out that “other” in the figures obtained by the Ministry of Justice includes all other harm, from broken bones to life-changing injuries and death. 

Remember the whole point of insurance is to compensate people for the harm caused by negligent drivers.

Brett Dixon

President

Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)