Whiplash fraud: What you told us

Recently I wrote about new technology that could potentially stamp out dodgy whiplash claims by spotting fake injuries from real ones. We've had hundreds of comments and emails in response so here’s a summary of what the UK’s drivers had to say on the subject.

Claims for whiplash are costing the insurance industry £2 billion a year. Insurers offset this cost by raising car insurance prices. So whiplash claims, whether you've made one or not, results in every driver paying more for car cover.

So it’s no surprise that we had a huge response to an article in our last newsletter, which described new technology that could be used to stamp out fraudulent whiplash claims in a bid to reduce the rising cost of car insurance in the long-term.

Chances are you know someone who has made a whiplash claim or have done so yourself. And who can blame you - it seems there’s a lot of money to be made from whiplash injuries and drivers are positively encouraged to jump on the personal injury bandwagon after an accident.

But the real problem is when there’s not a genuine injury to claim for, as this doesn’t seem to stop people, or personal injury solicitors, pushing claims through.

Is the system just a cash cow?

On reader who contacted summed up the problem. He said: “I once saw some youths in a slight back-end bump. One whispered to his mate 'Hold your neck, say you’ve got whiplash, there’s two grand in it.’”

Physiotherapist Don Gatherer, who has developed the new pain-detecting tool which diagnoses whiplash, is hoping that by helping those with genuine claims, fake claimants will be discouraged.

Another reader outlined his experience with a genuine whiplash injury. Genuine cases case be serious and costly to treat. He said: “Over a year ago I had someone run into the back of me leaving me with whiplash, it was extremely painful. I agree fraudsters should be stopped from getting away with it but there are people who are genuinely injured and they shouldn’t be penalised for something that isn’t their fault.”

Changing the compensation culture

Plenty of readers got in touch explaining their dealings with personal injury solicitors, or claims management companies, which encouraged them to make a claim.

One reader said he was “harassed” by a claims management company following a minor bump in his car. “I had no pain and felt fine but the callers really pushed to try and make me say I was hurt.”

And many more of you got in touch to slam the  so-called compensation culture in the UK. “I think this technique for detecting true whiplash injuries is just great,” said one reader. “It is not only the ’victims’ who are responsible for the claim culture, an awful lot of the blame must go to the 'no win, no fee' lawyers who are constantly touting for business.”

But another driver, who made a false whiplash claim and received £1,500, stands by his right to a payout. He said: “I may be a cheat but I lost my car and had to buy a new piece of junk because my premiums increased from £1,700 to £3,600. When premiums are this high it’s impossible for the poor not to claim.”

How can it lower your insurance?

Some people commented that implementing new technology like this will only push premiums up but Gatherer and his team at the Royal Buckinghamshire hospital hopes it will provide a long-term solution to the problem of rising car insurance premiums.

The annual cost of a comprehensive car insurance policy rose by 35.7 per cent in the first three months of 2011 - a rise of £220 over the past year.The chances of this falling any time soon is slim but one thing the insurance industry does seem to agree on is this: cut the number of claims made and insurance premiums will eventually come down across the board.

*Confused.com/Towers Watson Car Insurance Price Index

Comments

[john s.]

Hi,How many claim whiplash from dodgem car rides at the funfair,this is just another american style legal scam,dreamed up by money making american lawyers,we should stop listening to the way other countries work and implement our own system of claims.we should also strongly penalies anyone found guilty of fraudulant claims.

[Philip]

There should be a mandetory 1 year prison sentence on false insurance claims. How is that I haven't made a claim at all and yet my insurance gets more and more expensive every year. It should be simple really those that don't claim, reap the benefits of cheaper car insurance, while the ones that do claim suffer the brunt of higher insurance. It will make careful drivers more careful and the ones that do continue to claim will end up being priced out of driving a car all together.

[Derek Smith]

I collided into the back of a lad driving a toyota yaris,as he approached the roundabout me following behind,i began to slow down to 20mph,as he entered the roundabout,his breaklights came on,i breaked,then he began to accelerate then i increased my speed,he suddenly stopped and i breaked quickly but ran into him, i could not understand why he stopped suddenly(although i accept blame)we both got out of thr car,both shaken but not injured,i asked if he he was ok and he said yes.I asked him why he stopped so suddenly,he said he thought the van coming up to the round about on our right was coming faster than he thought so stopped,but the van did not come round the round about ,but left at the first exit,making his actions inappropriate,but non-the less it cost me and a higher premium,then a week later i got a claim for whip-lash,which surprised me as he said he was ok following the bump.i also thought the head resraints in all cars now were there to prevent this type of injury as it prevents the head flicking back,so there should be no whip-lash effect! Del.

[suz]

im sick of the amount of fraud in this country theres not enough respect manners morals,
and companies following a code of conduct is a joke as in lawyers and insuarance`s i.e. life and mortgage protection,
and the burgalars in a permanant job time the buyers were done for stolen goods,
must`nt forget the gas and electric fuel government makeing us pay a fortune when we`r forced to have no pay rise well done u.k. full of corruption,what goes around comes around,and car ins wheres advanced driving discount not many have it no wonder he kids dont drive right my moans by for now

[I. Azmi]

While anything that stamps out bogus claims is a good thing, (atleast for the insurance companies), I doubt very much that it will have any affect on lowering our premiums. Insurance companies will just find another excuse to increase our premiums. Insurance companies have a monopoly they can charge whatever they want and there's nothing we can do about them.

[seasick steve]

cut out the robbing insurance cabal.......tally up all the countries premiums....divide the figure by the number of registered vehicles...deduct 40% as there will no longer be uninsured drivers.......then divide that figure by the number of litres of fuel sold...and put it on the fuel......that way the more you drive the more you pay....And if somone steals a car and runs you over.....you wont have to put up with the p@*y insurance co's denying liability.....cos if youre driving an internal combustion engine....you have already paid a levy on the fuel.....14yrs with no claims car worth £1000.last year did 4500miles!! value of car went down.....policy went up 42% to £502 with £350 excess.....now if someone writes my car off......just how much do you think I can expect??? 4% inflation......what drugs are they on????? GREAT BRITAIN MY A@@E!!!.....DUMP!!

[ALLEN DAVIES]

WOULD IT NOT BE POSSIBLE FOR INSURERS TO OFFER GOOD DISCOUNTS TO CUSTOMERS THAT TICK A BOX THAT STATES THEY WILL NOT CLAIM GENERAL WHIPLASH INJURY CLAIMS "UNLESS SERIOUS". (HOSPITALISED, HAD TO TAKE MORE THAN TWO WEEKS OFF WORK. HAD TO SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT FROM A SPECIALIST OVER A PERIOD OF TIME ECT).

ANOTHER WAY WOULD BE FOR INSURERS TO KEEP A NATIONAL REGISTER WITH ALL THE NAMES OF WHIPLASH CLAIMANTS. THUS REPETITIVE CLAIMANTS WILL BE HI-LIGHTED. "MAY SEEM TOUGH HOWEVER THEY WILL THINK TWICE BEFORE PUTTING IN A CLAIM". WHY SHOULD I PAY FOR FRAUDSTERS MAKING A QUICK BUCK.

[G. Besford]

I have dealt with claims made against company drivers in the cases of whiplash injury. It is virtually impossible for a doctor to correctly diagnose a claim by a patient for whiplash injury. The doctor is wary of having a claim made against himself for possible medical negligence. The injury is to soft tissue and that does not show on an x-ray. Any doctor is relying on the patients reaction to simple pressure tests on the affected area and a question and answer session. In the case of a bogus claim the patient is obviously going to say "OUCH" to every prod and poke. I have had depositions made by doctors to the effect that the person making the claim has the injury while all evidence from my driver indicates that the person involved who was apparently unscathed at the time but, hey presto, three days later he is making a claim. Insurance companies have a maximum figure in these cases and if the claim is under that figure then the insurance company doesn't even look at the circumstances of the accident; it just isn't worth the time spent on investigation, it's stamped and passed for payment.
I do agree with all the preceding arguments but this "no claim, no fee" culture should be made illegal as this would stamp out these bogus claims.
A case for our MP's?