The Ministry of Justice has confirmed measures to cap whiplash pay-outs to cut down on the compensation culture.
The measures, which follow a recent consultation that was announced last autumn, are being introduced through provisions in the Prisons and Courts Bill and cover new fixed tariffs capping whiplash compensation pay-outs as well as a ban on claims without medical evidence. The reforms are expected to be implemented in full on October 1, 2018.
As part of the consultation outcome, the Government is also looking to increase the small claims limit for collision related personal injury claims to £5,000, which will be introduced through secondary legislative procedures.
James Dalton, director of general insurance policy, Association of British Insurers, welcomed the news, saying: “The reforms to whiplash claims set out in the Bill cannot come soon enough. For far too long claimant lawyers have been defending a system riddled with exaggerated and fraudulent claims because they have been profiting handsomely from it. The gravy train must stop.
“Motorists know that the UK’s roads have been getting ever safer, so why have whiplash style claims been rising?
“People want an insurance claims system that provides compensation and support to those who genuinely need it.
“What they don’t want is to be plagued by spam calls and texts from ambulance chasers, while personal injury lawyers continue to profit from a broken system in urgent need of reform.”
