Important Update – Claims & Whiplash Reforms 01/06/2021
There are major changes coming from the 31st May 2021 to clamp down on compensation culture within the insurance industry. The way in which Whiplash claims will be detailed will be changing to ensure genuine claims are dealt with and false ones are spotted. This is a really positive move and one that will hopefully benefit you as the costs of claims will be reduced.
What’s Changing
The reforms will see the small claims limit for Road Traffic Accidents increased from the current £1,000 to £5,000. This means that claims up to £5,000 in value will no longer be cost-bearing. For claims made on or after 31st May 2021, claimant solicitors will no longer be able to recover their costs for claims within the small claims track and will be limited to the recovery of a fixed cost. It is estimated that approximately 94% of RTA personal injury claims will now fall within the small claims track. This means that any claimant who wants to utilise the services of a solicitor for a personal injury claim under £5,000 will now have to pay their own legal costs.
A new fixed compensation tariff for whiplash claims will be introduced for claimants with an injury recovery period of up to 2 years. This tariff will be fixed by law so there can be no arguments over the amount awarded. It will apply to whiplash injuries and whiplash injuries with minor psychological injuries. Pre-medical offers will now be banned so insurers can no longer make a pre-medical offer for a whiplash claim and claimants cannot ask for one. Every claim for whiplash injury will need to be substantiated with a medical report.
The whiplash compensation tariff is detailed below. The first column is for a whiplash injury only and the second column, with a slightly increased tariff, is for when the whiplash injury includes one or more psychological injuries suffered on the same occasion.
| DURATION OF INJURY* | LOWER TARIFF
(Reg 2(1) (a)) |
UPPER TARIFF
(Reg 2(1)(b)) |
| Not more than 3 months | £240 | £260 |
| More than 3 months but not more than 6 months | £495 | £520 |
| More than 6 months but not more than 9 months | £840 | £895 |
| More than 9 months but not more than 12 months | £1,320 | £1,390 |
| More than 12 months but not more than 15 months | £2,040 | £2,125 |
| More than 15 months but not more than 18 months | £3,005 | £3,100 |
| More than 18 months but not more than 24 months | £4,215 | £4,345 |
| *This refers to the duration of the whiplash injury or, if more than one, the longest in
duration |
What do you need to do – Make the driver available as soon as possible
With the changes comes specific timescales when making a claim and when information needs to be submitted. As such, in the event of a claim, we would ask for the driver to made available as soon as possible in order for us to collect the information and submit this to the insurers.
This will not only make the claim run smoother but also faster.
When submitting a claim, as a minimum supply:
- Driver’s name
- Driver’s mobile number
- Vehicle registration
- Brief description of what happened / damage to vehicle
We will then contact the driver to collate the information
How do you submit a claim?
By phone: 01282 452255
By email: claims@financialaffairs.co.uk
Written by Laurence O'Connor
