Dr Gerald Swaby

This article critically reviews the changes that have occurred to mitigate the costs to insurers of bringing an action to recover damages for minor injuries and whiplash in RTA claims through the Official Injuries Claims Portal. It examines the Civil Liability Act 2018 and Whiplash Injury Regulation 2021 and the complexities facing the individual in their assessment of their damages in multiple injury cases by specific focus on Supreme Courts decision in the conjoined cases of Hassam v Rabot and Laditan v Briggs

According to the Association of British Insurers in 2021 there were 89,000 fraudulent claims detected in England. Of that number 49,000 were in motor insurance, of which 10,617 were of an organised nature. This was an increase of approximately 8% on the 2020 levels where detected fraud amounted to £1.12bn. The insurance industry of course sees insurance fraud on a daily basis and clearly legitimate policy holders should not have to bear the cost of high premiums that result from such fraudulent claims. It therefore comes as no surprise that a perceived compensation culture surrounding fraudulent insurance claims with regard to whiplash injuries has developed. With regards to this culture, it has been estimated that the eradication of such claims would save the motor insurance industry £2bn per annum and that this would result in every insured person seeing a reduction of £50 in their motor insurance policy premiums.