Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland QC MP
The reforms include a new user-friendly online portal for road traffic accident claims under £5,000 – simplifying the process and removing the need for expensive lawyers. They also introduce a ban on settling whiplash cases without medical evidence – a practice which has opened the door to fraudulent or embellished claims.
Despite the UK having some of the safest roads in Europe with fewer crashes reported year-on-year since 2013, road traffic accident claims are more than 40% higher than in 2006. This has been fuelled by a reported increase in exaggerated and often disproportionate claims, driving up the costs of premiums for ordinary motorists. The Government is determined to clamp down on this behaviour and help reduce the cost of insurance for drivers.
The Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland QC MP, said:
For too long the system for making whiplash claims has been open to abuse by individuals looking for an easy payday – with ordinary motorists paying the price.
Our changes, which come into force today, will put an end to this greedy opportunism and ultimately see savings put back into the pockets of the country's drivers.
The new tariff which sets out the base level compensation for various injuries