MPs call for medicals in whiplash claims

Anyone claiming for whiplash following a crash could be subject to a medical examination before receiving a payout, if MPs get their way.

This is a proposal from a report published by the House of Parliament’s transport committee looking at ways to drive down the cost of car insurance.

Cost of running a car decreasing

Average cost of car insurance down 12.5%

When MPs first called for the UK’s whiplash epidemic to be ended, chair of the report Louise Ellman MP said:

“Whiplash injuries can have debilitating consequences for those who suffer them. However, some of the increase in whiplash claims have been due to fraud or exaggeration.”

“The government should consider requiring claimants to provide proof that they have either been seen by a doctor or attended A&E shortly after the accident.”

As well as tackling bogus compensation claims for things like whiplash, the report also suggested that there should be a ban on encouraging drivers to claim following an accident by offering them cash or gift incentives.

It’s part of the government’s plans to end the ‘war on motorists’ and bring down the cost of running a car.

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) fraudulent motor insurance claims are the most expensive and common types of claims. In 2013, insurers detected a whopping 118,500 bogus or exaggerated car insurance claims, while the cost of insurance fraud in general cost a staggering £1.3 billion last year.

But despite all this, car insurance prices are going down.

According to confused.com, the average car insurance policy now costs £644 – down from £735 in 2013, and a significant drop from its peak at £858 in 2011.

This is partly due to new EU laws on gender equality that means insurance companies can’t penalise drivers based on their gender.

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Average cost of car insurance down 12.5%

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By motoringresearch.com