ABI calls for clampdown on Britain's pain in the neck culture

The ABI today called for a clampdown on the UK’s pain in the neck culture that has made the UK the whiplash capital of Europe. One in every 140 people claim whiplash a year. The activities of ambulance chasing lawyers and claims management firms, coupled with ‘crash for cash’ staged motor accidents has increased the risk of fraudulent claims.

Whiplash occurs after the soft tissue in the spine has been stretched and strained following a sudden forceful movement. It is normally caused by rear-end motor collisions. The need for action is highlighted by the fact that:

• Nearly 1200 whiplash claims are made every day. This is six times more than the number of people who claim for workplace-related injury every year.
• The costs to the NHS of treating whiplash have been estimated at £8 million a year.
• Three-quarters of personal injury claims in the UK are for whiplash, more than elsewhere in the Europe.
• Insurers pay out nearly £2 billion a year in claims for whiplash.

Speaking at the 2011 Whiplash conference in Leeds today James Dalton, the ABI’s Assistant Director of Motor and Liability, said: "Despite the statistics I doubt that that the UK has some of the weakest necks in Europe.”

The ABI is calling for action around:

• Implementation of Government proposals for civil justice reform to ensure genuine claimants get fair compensation and access to rehabilitation more quickly, and to reduce the scope for fraudulent claims.
• Intensifying insurers’ crackdown on fraudulent whiplash claims, for example cracking down on organised ‘crash for cash’ staged motor accidents.
• Raising consumer awareness on the need to keep a safe braking distance from the vehicle in front. So-called ‘tailgating’ is the main cause of whiplash.
• Developing authoritative medical guidance on how to accurately diagnose and treat genuine whiplash.

James Dalton added: “We seem ill-equipped to effectively identify and treat whiplash; our compensation system is too slow in paying fair compensation and offering rehabilitation to genuine claimants, and our compensation culture encourages fraud. All this must change. Our action plan will set up what is missing: an effective partnership between doctors, insurers and lawyers to ensure better prevention and treatment of whiplash, and crackdown on fraudulent claims. This will reduce the unacceptable costs which whiplash currently imposes on individuals, businesses and the state.”

For the full article visit the ABI website by clicking here...

source: ABI

Transport Select Committee report on motor insurance misses the point says the ABI

Responding to the publication today (11 March) of the House of Commons Transport Committee report into the cost of motor insurance, Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance and Heath at the ABI, said:

“This report is a missed opportunity. The Committee took a great deal of evidence, and has chosen to ignore much of it.

The Committee has failed to recognise that the main cause of the recent increases in motor insurance premiums is ever- increasing personal injury claims and spiralling legal costs. These are often driven by claims management firms. The Committee should have called on the Government to implement in full the recommendations of Lord Justice Jackson’s report into tackling the compensation culture. This will not only control excessive legal costs, but will speed up the payment of compensation to genuine claimants. Until this happens the cost of motor insurance will continue to rise."

“Legal costs alone now add an extra £40 a year to the average motor premium, and motorists should not have to foot the bill for our cost-ridden compensation system.

“The Committee is also wrong to say that referral fees should be more transparent. They are a symptom of a dysfunctional compensation system, not the cause of it. This is why the industry wants to go further than the Committee recommends and ban them altogether.”

On the Committee’s comments on tackling insurance fraud and young driver road casualties, Nick Starling commented:

“Insurers are also working hard to combat insurance fraud, including funding the Insurance Fraud Bureau, which works closely with the police in investigating organised motor insurance frauds.

“What the Committee has got right is to call for more action to reduce the appalling number of accident casualties among young drivers. The Government must act now to fix our failing driver training regime, through measures such as introducing a minimum learning period.”

For the full article on the Association of British Insurers website click here...

source: ABI

New blue badge parking crackdown

A crackdown on abuse of the disabled "blue badge" parking scheme in England has been announced by ministers.

It is estimated that use of up to half of the existing 2.5 million badges could be fraudulent, costing the UK an estimated £46m a year.

More people are to face mobility tests to get the badges, which offer special parking rights, and councils will have greater powers of confiscation. Use of blue badges has soared by more than a third in the last 10 years. The badges allow access to special parking or the right to avoid parking restrictions.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

DVLA warns drivers of email scam

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is warning of an email scam that asks drivers to verify their licence details via a website link.

The email, which purports to come from the DVLA, appears to be an attempt to trick drivers into providing personal details.

David Evans, the DVLA's corporate affairs director, said: "We would strongly urge anyone in receipt of this or a similar email to treat it with extreme caution and not to follow the instructions given."

To visit the DVLA online services page click here...

source: BVRLA

Fraud costs UK economy '£38bn a year'

Fraud costs the UK economy £38bn a year, with more than half of that suffered by the public sector, according to official estimates.

The National Fraud Authority (NFA) said that if the total cost was broken down, every UK adult would be £765 worse off. The NFA said "a stronger counter-fraud culture" was needed.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the £21bn cost of public sector fraud could pay for 800 secondary schools or 615,000 nurses. The cost to the private sector was £12bn and charities lost £1.3bn, the NFA reported, while individuals' losses were estimated at £4bn.

Frauds included marketing scams, bogus operators, fake lotteries and online ticketing and rental crimes.

Bernard Herdan, of the NFA, said the authority's annual fraud indicator was a "blueprint" for work to tackle the "rising tide" of fraud. Everyone should make an effort to protect themselves and share information on suspicious behaviour with the authorities.

"We want to develop a stronger counter-fraud culture, which helps to disrupt fraudulent activity across the UK and globally," Mr Herdan said.

For the full story and updates from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

BVRLA slams new vehicle registration certificate

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is to issue a restyled vehicle registration certificate (V5C). It will be sent to all newly registered vehicles from 15 August and all relicensed vehicles, or those subject to a statutory off-road notification (SORN), after July 2011. The DVLA says the move will help protect motorists from being sold vehicles with false documentation.

The new V5Cs have a predominantly red cover, replacing the current blue, and carry a statement confirming that a V5C is not proof of ownership. According to the government's Directgov website: "The re-designed V5C now makes it clear that it is not proof of ownership and will provide details of where you can get advice on how to avoid becoming the victim of vehicle crime."

In 2006 a large batch of blank V5Cs was stolen and the DVLA has admitted that the theft was a factor in its decision to revise the former design.

Approximately 31 million genuine V5Cs are in circulation. With the production and distribution cost for each new certificate estimated to be around £10, the BVRLA believes the de facto recall of old V5Cs will cost the DVLA £310m. The association regards the move as ill-considered given the disruption and administrative costs this change will impose on fleet owners. It has called for an urgent meeting with the DVLA to discuss the steps the agency should take to minimise the impact for all parties. One proposal the BVRLA intends to table is to only issue a new V5C to recognised fleet vehicles when they are sold and registered to a new keeper.

The old and new V5Cs can be compared on the Directgov website by clicking here...

To visit the BVRLA website or to become a member click here...

source: BVRLA

East European gangs target rental firms

Organised crime groups with Lithuanian and other eastern European connections are targeting UK rental companies. Up to 30 vehicles belonging to BVRLA members have been stolen by criminals using false or stolen IDs in recent weeks.

The gangs appear to be made up of smartly dressed men in their late 30s with Lithuanian, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak and Romanian passports and driving licences. They usually provide UK addresses. They initially tended to rent as walk-ups from airports, especially Stansted and Gatwick, then targeted the cities of London and Birmingham, but now appear to be operating much farther afield, as far north as Leeds. They give contact telephone numbers for mobile phones, but these cease to be answered after initial assurances to the rental company that the rental vehicles will be returned. Most of the names and addresses used by these individuals have been added to the BVRLA's RISC Online database.

For more information on how to protect your business through the RISC Online database, contact BVRLA head of member services Nora Leggett.

To join the BVRLA click here...

source: BVRLA

Accident-fakers target London fleets

Operation Catcher, a Metropolitan Police initiative, has been launched to identify criminals who deliberately induce vehicle collisions in order to defraud insurers.

According to the Metropolitan Police, there is a high incidence of such crimes in its area. In particular, it warns that "organised criminal groups" are targeting companies operating vehicle fleets within the M25.

To visit the BVRLA advice and guidance pages click here...

source: BVRLA