Will the New Whiplash Reforms Cause Job Losses?

Whiplash Reforms and Rising PI Claims.

Over the course of 2016 and 2017, an astonishing 1.3Million people part of Great Britain's working class has fallen victim to personal injury. This lead to an in-depth study to undergo the types of injuries occurring. The end result revealed that concerning roadtraffic accidents, the amount of whiplash PI claims increased by a whopping 780 000 during that time period. Unfortunately, that means that insurance premiums increased as well.

Recently we mentioned how the changes that follow the Civil Liability Bill will affect insurance rates across the entire UK. The debates delivered the splendid news. Motorists can now celebrate saving as much as £35 per year on their car insurance premiums. However, more changes are still to come as a majority of personal injury sufferers are complaining that they are paying an increase in claims costs due to a high amount of people making fraudulent claims. To deal with this matter the government is implementing new and improved whiplash reforms. The main focus of the whiplash reforms is to make it possible to determine exactly if the claim is real or fake. This will hopefully lead to victims of accidents receiving the right compensation for their injuries and the fraud committers receiving not a single penny.

The Risk of Job Losses and The Effect it has on Personal Injury Lawyers.

On one side UK motorists celebrate the drop in car insurance costs. However, on the other side personal injury lawyers fear job loss and firms fear losing business. According to the LawGazette, “The reforms may be a chance to reinvent the sector and promote a more positive image”. This means that the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is determined to seeing through the whiplash reforms.

Another assessment suggested that Lossin revenue for PI firms was considerable and could cost up to £81m per year in lost revenue. It’s believed that this is as a result of the reform’s aims to lighten burdens on the small claims court. The foreseen increase in clients not receiving compensation will rise from a low 5% to 30%. Additionally, an estimation was made that the coming whiplash reforms will affect 96% of whiplash claims. This means that personal injury lawyers will receive fewer cases.

The Final Thought.

It’s rather scary how everything will affect a client’s ability to lodge a personal injury claim. These whiplash reforms are without a doubt shaking the foundation for insurers and solicitors alike. Everyone is at the edge of their seats in anticipation as to what’s about to come. It's already advised that insurance firms are to benefit by claimants seeking compensation directly. Furthermore, there may be an opportunity for PI firms to recover lost revenues. In order to accomplish this, they can represent individuals who are battling with their PI claims from insurers. In the end, every change that they implement concerning whiplash reforms will be to improve the personal accident claim process. This will benefit claimants across the UK while decreasing fraudulent claims at the same time.