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The Whiplash Backlash
John Baker and sales executive Stevie-Jayne Curtis. Photo: Peterborough ET
BRITAIN is known as “the whiplash capital of Europe”, with 1,500 claims a day for physical and emotional damage, and loss of earnings. With the increased statistical likelihood of young drivers being involved in an accident, driving a car has become an extortionate or unattainable dream for some, as deputy features editor John Baker discovered.
“INJURED? Don’t leave it too late to claim? Fact: 70 per cent of people who can claim compensation don’t bother. Don’t become one of them.”
Unsolicited emails and text messages like this are now commonplace from companies urging people to claim payouts after accidents.
This money comes from insurance companies, who then push the costs towards other motorists through higher premiums.
Many of these claims are genuine, but the Evening Telegraph has heard of at least two cases where drivers were encouraged to claim for whiplash if they were involved in an accident, even though there were no apparent injuries or damage to the cars involved.
This week Prime Minister David Cameron met with insurance companies to tackle growing concerns about a ‘compensation culture’, particularly around whiplash claims.
They discussed reducing the £1,200 fee that solicitors earn from small value personal injury claims and adjusting motor premiums accordingly.
Another idea due to be debated is a speed limit threshold similar to that in Germany, where a claim is thrown out if a collision occurs at less than 6.25mph.
It’s an idea that consultant Andrew Cope says would be “completely fair.”
He works at Peterborough City Hospital’s accident and emergency ward, which sees about 10 cases a month of whiplash to people involved in collisions.
Other patients go to their GP, who might suggest an x-ray, usually done at the City Care Centre on Thorpe Road.
Whiplash occurs when the soft tissue in the spine is stretched and strained after the body is thrown in a sudden, forceful jerk, causing headaches and stiffness in the neck and the back of the head.
The common advice is not to fit a brace, but to encourage movement of the affected area in combination with painkillers.
Only the patient really knows if they have suffered a whiplash injury.
Mr Cope said: “The symptoms will not show up on a normal X-ray.
“The majority will get better within four to six weeks, but some can last one or two years.
“Fundamentally, websites such as the ones mentioned encourage a claims culture, but it is difficult to be completely dogmatic because there are some people who have genuine problems.
“It has disturbed their sleep and the normal activities of their lives, and affected their work
“So I have seen cases of genuine disability – but I have also seen cases where the signs don’t fit in with the symptoms. If I ask the patient what they are able to do, someone with whiplash would find a lot of actions very tough.
“But if they do a physical job and yet waited two days before they went to be seen, then that pain cannot be that bad.
“Similarly, there are people who have not gone to their GP, or have even gone on a family holiday before seeing anyone.
“When I am asked to do a report I act as an advocate for the patient, but also the insurance company.
“They want to know if the patient’s symptoms are directly related to the crash, and I have to give a yes or no answer
“If it is a no, I will write: ‘I can’t explain the apparent presence of the client’s symptoms’.”
Nigel Lacy, director of marketing for isurance providers Young Marmalade, which specialise in young drivers, said he had even heard of cases of claimants trying to lie about how many people were in their car.
He believes “vicious use” of the conditional fee agreements (no-win, no-fee) has allowed solicitors to inflate fees.
He said: “The other problem is that if the insurer does win, the fraudsters do not have the funds to reimburse the insurer for their costs.
“Take this example of four people claiming whiplash and wanting £3,000 each – a total of £12,000.
“If the insurer challenges, he probably only has a 50 per cent chance of winning. If he loses he will have to pay £12,000 and no-win, no-fee of about £10,000, his own legal fees of £6,000 and court costs, a total of about £29,000.
“If he wins he will still have to pay his own costs of £6,000 as he will only incur additional costs in trying to get it back. It is a no-brain decision to pay the £12,000.
“It is a bun feast for accident management companies, and there are a lot of fictitious claims, but the insurance company has no way of disputing them.”
Mr Lacy added that the fees come from a variety of sources, including garage referrals and care hire costs.
He said: “The fees account for 40 per cent of any payout, so drivers are encouraged to do it, and they can get money for nothing.
“The government is trying to make it more difficult – the onus will be on those claiming, rather than those claimed against.“
Peterborough firm is thinking smart
factors other than whiplash claims are forcing up the cost of insurance premiums for young drivers.
One in three young male drivers will write off a car in their first year, while a quarter of convictions for causing death by dangerous driving are for drivers under 20.
The Government is looking at encouraging the use of ‘smartboxes’ to monitor the behaviour of younger drivers.
It’s something Fengate company Young Marmalade has already administered in the cars it sells in its ‘intelligent marmalade’ scheme.
A machine fitted inside the car monitors an average journey and grades each manoeuvre as green, amber or red for harsh braking, and poor cornering and acceleration.
An average is then taken, giving an overall mark from the same three choices.
This score can be seen on a computer by anyone who has a password, so parents can monitor their offspring’s regular driving patterns.
Amber journeys lead to emailed warnings, while repeated reds lead to increased premiums next year, and in the end, a termination of the policy – so there is a real reason to drive intelligently.
ET deputy features editor John Baker and deputy chief photographer David Lowndes both tried out the system in a sporty little Vauxhall Corsa Sxi. and were encouraged by services officer Ian Brown to drive a little differently than normal, albeit safely. I took the car into a car park and performed a few erratic turns, and a screeching emergency stop, while David just drove as normal.
A few ambers scattered our scores, but because we were still largely in control we failed to stray into the red.
Consistent, good driving will drive down the premiums, which can cost anywhere from £8,500 to £24,000 for a first year driver according to research elsewhere from sales executive Katie Miller.
She said: “People are worried the system will catch them out like Big Brother, but if you slam on your brakes or have to swerve once, the rest of the journey will average it out. It’s only if you have red journeys that the company would get more involved. The increased costs are quite a deterrent.
“We have had a few ring us up after getting red journeys disputing them – but then we looked and it turned out they were driving at 100mph on a motorway.
“We have had a couple cancelled. One parent was unhappy that their son wasn’t adjusting their driving, and cancelled it themselves, because if we had cancelled it they wouldn’t have got insurance elsewhere.”
The company also has a mechanism to help towards the cost of the first year’s premium as it buys many new cars and receives significant support from manufacturers, which is passed on as cashback.
For more information go to www.youngmarmalade.co.uk
CASE STUDY: Readers are shocked by their rising insurance premiums
HE’S a police officer with a clean licence, no accidents, and three years’ no claims.
But despite having driving training for his job at Thorpe Wood, officer Paul Dowling (22) still pays around £800 a year for a tiny diesel Renault Clio – which he describes as “daylight robbery”.
He passed his driving test at the age of 17 in September 2007, and his first car – also a Clio – cost £1,600 to insure.
He said: “The car only cost about £5,000, but the insurance was so much that I got a job in the summer literally just to pay for it. Then there was the cost of fuel.”
The premiums dropped in the first couple of years, but then bizarrely rose again when he left student life to take on full time employment.
Paul, originally from Bretton, now lives with his partner Kayleigh Stent in Tallington
She pays more than £1,200 per year for her Kia Picanto.
He said: “We need to drive, but paying more than £150 a month between us makes no sense at all. I’m 22 and by now I would be expecting costs to fall.
“I have taken training in driving and would expect that with these courses, insurers would think that I must be at least a fairly decent driver – but it doesn’t count for anything.
“I have seen these programmes in America where they have a kind of CCTV camera in the car, and I think it’s a good idea if it will reduce prices.”
“Anything that will lessen the effect of paying through the teeth has got to be a good thing.”
Paul’s story was one of many mentioned on the ET’s Twitter and Facebook sites.
Ian Hill wrote: “I have just had insurance problems with my son Luke Smith – three years no claims but under 21.”
And Sandra Steels added: “Young drivers are not the only ones who struggle with insurance, we all do.
“We are paying £550 a year when I remember about four years ago our car insurance was less than £200.”
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Comments
There are 6 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
WeWorkTheyPlay
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 05:23 PMToo many cars. Discouraging people taking up the car through high insurance premiums is a good thing.
feduppete
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 01:03 PMNo wonder our insurance premiums are at an all time high. I'm seriously considering just having third party insurance only.
Fagan
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 11:54 AMsome considerate soul hit my van & knocked off the wing mirror, they drove away without leaving details, luckily someone saw the incident & got the reg plate number. i claimed against them for damage, new mirror & assembly, my van was parked, no one on board & no injuries yet i still got numerous calls & texts trying to get me to make an injury claim, the insurance companies must be leaking the details no matter how small the claim
rebel woman
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 10:43 PMI work with someone who was hit from behind at traffic lights. The prang barely marked the cars and they parted company without exchanginfg details, but as my 'friend' drove off she made a mental note of the other cars reg plate. Low and behold that night at work she said her neck hurt so she called another friend who runs a 'no win - no fee' business in Millfield and he said to claim for whiplash but told her to go to the doctors and also to have a few days off work as that would help her claim. She never had neck ache at all. She contacted the police with the reg number and her insurance company and the other driver would then get a letter about the 'accident' after she thought it was all ok. The man from the claim company was the one plying for business. They are vultures.
Elsie
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 06:23 PMThe problem with whiplash claims is that they are paid out without consulting the other party. I don't know but maybe this is the cheaper option rather than go to the trouble of taking statements from both sides. My husband had an small accident which he admitted was his fault as the collision occurred when he ran into the rear of a 4x4 at less than 5mph. Our car was wedged over the female drivers towbar and she tried to pull away with us attached. When she got out, after my husband had sounded his horn, she said she didn't even know we had hit her and thought her brakes had stuck on. We didn't find out until our premium went up on renewal which we queried only to find she had received £1500 for whiplash! Maybe if we had been consulted this claim would never had been paid.
Uncle Nozmo
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 05:29 PMAs a recently retired London bus driver based at Stockwell Garage this kind of telemetric device is fitted to Go-Ahead's buses to reduce its enormous insurance costs as well as fuel consumption. It bleeps and logs "harsh braking", "harsh acceleration", speed exceeding 43mph, and excessive idling. Some HGV companies also use these telemetrics to reduce fuel consumption and insurance. Their telemetry is also centrally recorded by radio and gives a constant record of he speed the bus or lorry is doing at any given time and place. London bus companies have an insurance excess of £250,000 per claim and Go-Ahead forks out £25,000 per day for accident damage, to the point where they keep cars ready to replace any 3rd party vehicles because of the rip-off prices charged by claims companies for replacement vehicles. All drivers carry cards with details for 3rd party claimants to obtain a replacement car straight away. Adapting this equipment to reduce insurance costs and improve driving standards of young drivers is a very good idea!
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