Government problems report to fight false whiplash declares

The transfer select committee has released a new report on fraudulent whiplash injuries, with suggestions on how to halt the rising insurance premiums connected with fabricated or exaggerated claims.
According to the report, common develops of fraudulent activity included accidents intentionally staged in order to make a claim, declares for non-existent passengers, exaggerated symptoms or impact of a genuine injury, and completely fabricated injuries.
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One of the main suggestions of the committee was that people declaring a whiplash injury ought to be needed to submit proof in the form of a medical report. The committee was “surprised” to hear that this is not currently the case, and that insurers will in some cases pay claimants when they have not received a medical report.
The committee also supported an accreditation system to guarantee that physicians who verify claimants’ injuries are also legitimate.
According to the committee, enhancing fraudulent whiplash declares has driven up insurance premiums in recent years. The report estimated that anywhere from 0.1% to 60% of whiplash declares were fraudulent.
Louise Ellman, a labour MP for Liverpool Riverside and the chair of the committee, emphasised that despite widespread fraud, genuine whiplash injuries do exist and those suffering from injuries ought to not be marginalised.
“Many declares are genuine and relate to real injuries which can affect people for months or years,” Ellman said. “Genuine claimants ought to not be demonised simply because their condition cannot be chosen up on a scan.”
The report also increased concerns about a government proposal to switch whiplash declares between £1,000 and £5,000 to the small declares court. The committee believes that it could be challenging for the average person to contest a claim against insurance company lawyers. Also, it notes that expert evidence is not typically submitted in small declares court.
Commenting on the latest findings, Simon Douglas, the director of AA insurance, said: “There is no doubt that fraudulent and exaggerated whiplash injury declares have inflated premiums and have tarnished the credibility of the legal and insurance professions.”
Ellman had specified in the report that: “The government has declared that the UK is the ‘whiplash capital of the world,’ but without dependable data on road mishaps we cannot say whether that statement is true or not.”

Douglas, however, noted that: “Whether it is true or not, Britain has earned the shameful credibility of being the ‘whiplash capital of Europe.’”