The Justice Committee is today beginning an inquiry into how
whiplash injuries resulting from traffic accidents are processed
following reforms in the legal framework introduced by the
government. Whiplash happens when your head is suddenly jolted
backwards and forwards in a whip-like movement – typically in a
car accident.
Whiplash reform was introduced in 2021 following a realisation
that insurance claims for the injury were running at over £2bn
per year – adding an average of £90 to everyone’s car insurance
policies.
The Whiplash Reform Programme was aimed at roughly halving the
overall cost of these types of insurance claims, and then passing
on savings in premiums of between £40 and £50 a year per
motorist.
As part of the reform programme, the Ministry of Justice asked
the insurance industry to set up an online claiming system, or
portal, known as the Official Injury Claim Service, which would
deal with whiplash and claims for bruising or minor fractures.
The reforms also required claimants to provide medical evidence
of their injuries and introduced a financial limit on claims.
The inquiry will investigate the effects of the reform programme,
including any savings, and how the Claim Service portal operates.
Full details about the inquiry can be found here.
Chair's comments
The Chair of the Justice Committee, Sir , said:
“Whiplash injury claims have been costing motorists a
disproportionately large amount of money and taking up a lot of
precious court time.
That’s not to minimise the pain and suffering such injuries can
cause. But if we can find a way of saving money and court time we
should do so.
So we’ll be looking carefully into the way claims are being
processed and how much they cost motorists and the wider
tax-paying public. We want justice to prevail, but we want it to
be efficient as well”.
Terms of reference for the inquiry
The Committee invites evidence on:
- What effect have the measures introduced within the whiplash
reform programme had on the number of minor personal injury
claims to date?
- To what extent have these measures met the Government’s
objective of reducing the cost of whiplash claims to the economy;
and to what extent are any savings being passed on to motorists
through lower insurance premiums?
- What have been the effects of raising the small claims track
limit from £1,000 to £5,000; the ban on settling whiplash claims
without medical evidence; and the fixed tariff of compensation
for whiplash injuries that last up to two years?
- Why most claimants continue to use legal representation when
using the online portal (90% since its launch)?
- Whether the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal is accessible
and easy-to-use for claimants and/or their legal representatives;
- Whether claims brought using the OIC are being settled in a
timely manner, if timeliness could be improved upon; and if so,
how?
- Whether the OIC ensures access to justice for everyone who
may seek to make a claim?
- How widely known is the OIC and how are potential claimants
made aware of its existence?
- How effective is the OIC portal in settling claims for mixed
injury claims, which cannot be settled using the fixed tariff
awards?
- Any other issues in relation to the implementation of the
whiplash reform programme and operation of the OIC to date.
Written evidence
The deadline for making submissions is 5pm on Friday
17 March. Submit written evidence here.
