Four in five people think they’re covered for personal injury on their car insurance policy – but they’re not.
Four in five people think they’re covered for personal injury on their car insurance policy – but they’re not.
A new study from Norwich Union reveals that three-quarters of motorists don’t fully understand the details of what their policy does and doesn’t cover.
And nearly three in five (58%) people expect their insurers would definitely play a part in their recovery if they were to suffer a whiplash injury in a motor accident which was their fault.
But, explains David King from Norwich Union Insurance, which has recently launched Physio Fast – its new comprehensive physiotherapist cover – most motor insurance policies don’t have ‘automatic’ cover for your personal injury.
Says David: "Drivers may be getting their priorities wrong when it comes to taking out insurance. They tend to select by price and the level of cover for their car and don’t even consider whether the policy covers them for the risk of personal injury. But they need to bear in mind that while it costs an average of Ł1,000 to repair a car, the average cost of an injury claim is around Ł2-3,000."
"People often have an ‘it won’t happen to me’ approach but there are hundreds of thousands of accidents involving injury every year, and around 80% of all personal injury claims involve ‘soft tissue’ or ‘whiplash’ injuries. People need to be aware that if the worse does happen, they can’t assume that their insurer will look after them."
To make matters worse, adds Consultant Physiotherapist Gordon Bosworth, waiting times for an NHS physiotherapist can be as long as 6 months in some regions. It is generally accepted that early diagnosis and treatment for whiplash is important to increase the chances of making a full recovery, and avoid complications.
Says Gordon: "If the soft tissues are not treated fairly quickly which includes getting the right advice about what you should, and shouldn’t be doing, the problem is likely to get worse. For example, some people think they need to wear a neck collar or to sit and keep their head still – this can be one of the worse things for whiplash. Generally speaking it’s far better to keep the neck moving, with physiotherapy and professionally prescribed neck exercises."
The Norwich Union study, completed by the Future Foundation, also found:
- 97 per cent believe getting better is the most important priority after a car accident, compared to two per cent who think that the priority should be getting compensation
- 57 per cent of drivers don’t think about personal injury when they renew their motor insurance policy
- Three in five people have car insurance mainly because they worry about their car being stolen or damaged
- 51 per cent say they only have motor insurance because it’s compulsory
- More people believe their policy covers their own recovery (82%) than believe they’re covered for the costs of a third party (74%)
Additional research from Norwich Union into Britain’s compensation culture also indicates that more people claim compensation following a motor accident than any other incident.
David King added: "The law states motor insurance should cover damage or injury to a third party, but it doesn’t say anything about cover for your own injury. If people are expecting their insurers to give practical help if they get injured we advise them to read their policy carefully.
"We’ve designed PhysioFast as a simple add-on for policy holders to give them peace of mind that we will support them should they sustain an injury, which should go some way towards helping them get their life back to how it was before the accident."
Physio Fast is a comprehensive physiotherapy cover to help recovery after a car accident. It can be added to Norwich Union Insurance’s comprehensive motor policy for Ł12 a year, and entitles the holder to:
- Speedy referral to a local, fully qualified chartered physiotherapist
- An initial consultation to determine the suitability and level of treatment required
- Up to eight treatment sessions
- A full report which will be sent to the person’s GP on completion of treatment
They’re covered even if the accident was their fault and passengers can also benefit from the fast tracking service. For more information on Physio Fast, visit www.norwichunion.co.uk/car_insurance/physio_fast.htm
-ends-
Media contact:
Charlotte Speedy, or Lottie Parsons at QBO Bell Pottinger on 020 7861 2424 or David Ross at Norwich Union on 01603 682 730
Notes to editors
- The average cost of repair to a car is between Ł900 and Ł1,000. The average value of lost output per casualty was Ł3,515 in 2002 (for slight casualties it’s Ł1,741)
- There were 299,174 injuries as a result of car accidents in 2002, (of these, 263,198 were slight injuries)
- Rehabilitation cost the UK economy Ł1.05 billion in 2002 in terms of lost output. If the number of days lost could be reduced by one day per casualty the saving to the UK economy would be Ł29 million a year
- Three quarters of people who had ‘slight’ injuries and recovered within a year lost an average of five days work on average
- The Future Foundation was commissioned by Norwich Union to carry out focus groups into people’s views on rehabilitation. Norwich Union also commissioned a random survey of 1,000 UK adults. The survey was run by ICM Research Ltd.
Norwich Union
- Norwich Union is the UK's largest insurer with a market share of around 14 per cent . With a focus on insurance for individuals and small businesses, Norwich Union insures :
-
- one in five households
- one in seven motor vehicles
- more than 800,000 businesses
- Norwich Union products are available through a variety of distribution channels including brokers, corporate partners such as banks and building societies and Norwich Union Direct.