Whiplash is more than just a pain in the neck for Britain's motorists - for too long it's hurt their wallets as well. We welcome today's announcement from the Ministry of Justice that independent medical panels are to be introduced next year, helping to reduce the number of spurious whiplash claims.
Rob Townend, Deputy Claims Director, Aviva UK & Ireland General Insurance, said:
"Whiplash is more than just a pain in the neck for Britain's motorists - for too long it's hurt their wallets as well. We welcome today's announcement from the Ministry of Justice that independent medical panels are to be introduced next year, helping to reduce the number of spurious whiplash claims. This sensible initiative has the potential to benefit genuinely injured motorists by making the claims process quick and efficient.
"It is crucial that all parties begin working together quickly to ensure the process has real rigour. We must have independent reports on the right cases, at the right price, at the right time and with the right level of checks and balances so that only genuinely injured claimants are compensated. But in doing so, we should consider lessons learned in other countries, such as Canada, where medical assessment costs have escalated out of control.
"We look forward to working with other parties to deliver a robust medical assessment process, weeding out fraudulent whiplash claims, that will benefit both motorists and claimants."