Getting into a serious accident can be an extremely traumatic experience for an individual. With a long road to recovery and the sometimes excruciating process of making a claim, this is an encounter that no one wants to go through.
One of the most common injury claims is for whiplash. A neck injury caused by a sudden jolting of the head. It is frequently found in road traffic accidents and with around 120,000 casualties on the roads in the year ending June 2021, this will have affected many people.
Whilst most of these people will have a right to make a claim, some people have been exploiting the system to get a payout. Whiplash injuries could be settled in court without evidence previously, which saw fraudulent cases appearing everywhere.
This has led to the UK government cracking down to ensure their system cannot be exploited as well as making it easier for those will legitimate injuries to get their settlement fee. Read on to find out more about the whiplash reforms and what they mean for injury claims.
Key changes
The reforms have seen many changes made to the way personal injury claims are made. Here are some of the main ones:
- New user-friendly online portal for road traffic claims under £5000
- Ban on settling whiplash cases without proof from healthcare professionals
- Increased small claims track limit from £1000 to £5000 for road traffic-related personal injury claims
- New fixed tariff for compensation of whiplash injuries
Reasons behind changes
The changes come in an attempt to crack down on opportunists who make illegitimate claims. For so long, it has been easy for people to claim they have whiplash whenever they’ve been involved in a road accident.
With no need for medical proof, anyone could make a claim and receive an easy payout straight into their pockets. The sheer amount of claims resulted in every driver’s insurance premiums being higher than they should be. This has left ordinary drivers to pay for those making fraudulent claims.
what this will mean for claims
These changes will hugely benefit ordinary drivers on the road. Here’s why:
- Cheaper insurance premiums
- Quick and straightforward process for those with legitimate claims
- Claim for free so no lawyer fees are required
These reforms will see the power shift back to lawful drivers who may, unfortunately, have to make a personal injury claim from time to time. Getting in an accident is a scary and traumatic experience, so having to endure a long and arduous claim process should be the least of your concerns.
With these reforms, making claims will be easier than ever and every other driver on the road will also benefit from lower insurance premiums.
