Time To Move On As Whiplash Reforms Hit The Buffers

So, years of hot air, dubious statistics, confusing surveys and sometimes helpful government studies appear to have resulted in precisely nothing. All the talk is that the government has shelved the proposed reforms to whiplash and the small claims track limit which leaves the claimant lawyers dancing in the aisles and the defendant insurers no further forward.

Of course, the claimant lawyers will claim a ‘victory’ for access to justice (it was never about that and always about maintaining their business model), whilst insurers will bemoan the opportunity to reduce fraud and the increased premiums that result from increased claims costs. However, at its heart the debate was surely more about the type of society that we wish to encourage.

Financial Services Shoots Itself in the Foot

The readiness to facilitate easy money through the insurance claims system whether it be personal injury, medical negligence, or industrial deafness claims is as much a reflection of the society in which we live and the sector in which we operate as it is a legal nicety. The financial services industry has covered itself in scandal, immorality and naked greed to such an extent that any government now seeking to deny what can be positioned as denying the ‘man in the street’ their due rights will tread very carefully indeed before taking action.

True, not even the government wants the excesses of the PI claims farmers (and the insurers who sometimes encourage this) to be allowed to continue but it cannot be beyond the wit of all right thinking people to curb these activities without undermining the existing principles of compensation. It would have theoretically been great to see the rules on whiplash compensation changed. I for one was a great supporter. But would it really have made that much difference to the costs of insurance as the slithering snakes of the CMC sector found a way through and round any new rules that might have been created?

We all know that the nature of insurance underwriting and pricing is such that any attempt to draw a direct correlation between the supposed ￡50 per policy cost of PI claims and the eventual premium charged to the user of a comparison website was doomed to failure.

Where to Now?

So, as the ABI and individual insurers retreat to their caves to lick their wounds the challenge now is to determine a new way forward. As is often the case when two warring factions fight almost to the death the answer lies in negotiation and compromise. For this to happen meaningfully there must a be a mutual acceptance that there is fault on both sides and the first task is to agree the end point – what are the core aims of the parties involved?

Only then can there be sensible discussions on how to get there.

The time for recriminations is over and it's time to move on. There is an old Chinese proverb (which I first heard spoken by a district judge during my divorce hearing many years ago!) which reads;

‘He who walks backwards has a habit of falling down holes’

Now is the opportunity for men and women who really care about the genuine needs of claimants, legitimate members of the claimant community, and forward looking insurers, to step up to the plate and create a new environment of mutual understanding and constructive change - whilst hammering the fraudsters with everything we have!

In order to find out more about our consultancy, workshop and project services around a range of claims development, supply chain and business growth topics please visit the website at www.jelconsulting.co.uk

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