Whiplash claim info

adamc260

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

totally agree, whipcash is very hard to prove. But at least they are lowering the payouts these days so discourages crash for cash

Not by enough sadly...

People do genuinely get hurt, but a lot don't and jump on the band wagon to make a few quid =/

My above comment is in no way aimed at the OP by the way, just saying as an opinion about PI claims.

Crazy_Jamie

adamc260 wrote: »

People do genuinely get hurt, but a lot don't and jump on the band wagon to make a few quid =/

Not to open this can of worms up again, but if I remember correctly your own employer's figures revealed 2% of cases proven as fraudulent, and put the number of total fraudulent whiplash claims at 4%-5% at most, with many of those due to fraud rings, making the percentage for individual fraudulent claimants much lower. I suppose it depends on your definition of 'a lot', but I do think there is a perception that there are far more fraudulent claims out there than there actually are. In reality the percentages are really quite low when compared to how the media cover the subject and the how general population react to it.

adamc260

Crazy_Jamie wrote: »

Not to open this can of worms up again, but if I remember correctly your own employer's figures revealed 2% of cases proven as fraudulent, and put the number of total fraudulent whiplash claims at 4%-5% at most, with many of those due to fraud rings, making the percentage for individual fraudulent claimants much lower. I suppose it depends on your definition of 'a lot', but I do think there is a perception that there are far more fraudulent claims out there than there actually are. In reality the percentages are really quite low when compared to how the media cover the subject and the how general population react to it.

Do all insurers investigate every single claim received for whiplash? I highly doubt it... no one has the resources to do that.

What I'm saying is, people who aren't injured say they are because they know that a) anyone can look the symptoms up online or they know someone that has had it, lets be fair anyone can say 'Ahh my neck is sore' and b) a medical cannot for whiplash cannot prove you have whiplash... hence its the most common injury received.

I think your looking at statistics based on people who repeatedly claim whiplash or are into more serious things than just saying to their insurer 'yeh my neck is a bit sore'. You cannot honestly believe that only 4-5% of Whiplash claims aren't genuine and the other 95% are? If so then you are sorely mistaken sorry.

The UK has moved into a compensation culture very quickly, go back... 15 years? before all of this was around, was whiplash such a big thing... no which proves that as times have changed and solicitors tout for business that the number of claims rise. That is simply the case.

Sorry to OP for overtaking their thread.

Crazy_Jamie

adamc260 wrote: »

Do all insurers investigate every single claim received for whiplash? I highly doubt it... no one has the resources to do that.

What I'm saying is, people who aren't injured say they are because they know that a) anyone can look the symptoms up online or they know someone that has had it, lets be fair anyone can say 'Ahh my neck is sore' and b) a medical cannot for whiplash cannot prove you have whiplash... hence its the most common injury received.

I think your looking at statistics based on people who repeatedly claim whiplash or are into more serious things than just saying to their insurer 'yeh my neck is a bit sore'. You cannot honestly believe that only 4-5% of Whiplash claims aren't genuine and the other 95% are? If so then you are sorely mistaken sorry.

They do not investigate every claim, nor are all of the fraudulent claims that are investigated ultimately proven. Which is why there are two figures; one for proven fraudulent claims and one for estimated total fraudulent claims, including those that go undetected. The statistics I am looking at come from your employer, and it is your employer who estimates that only 4-5% are not genuine. So it's not just me that is suggesting it; the company that pays your wages is suggesting it too. I would have thought that it is quite difficult for you to suggest that those figures are grossly inaccurate when they come from your own employer, especially when you have nothing to back up your assertions apart from your experiences in your job, which will clearly be inherently skewed and biased in any event due to the nature of that job.

Though for the sake of argument, what percentage of whiplash claims are fraudulent in your opinion? And what are you basing that figure on? I only ask because if you have some magical insight into the numbers of fraudulent whiplash claims that trumps the official figures and estimates of your own employer (who, with respect, has access to far more knowledge and resources on the subject than you or I do individually), you should probably let them know.

adamc260

Crazy_Jamie wrote: »

They do not investigate every claim, nor are all of the fraudulent claims that are investigated ultimately proven. Which is why there are two figures; one for proven fraudulent claims and one for estimated total fraudulent claims, including those that go undetected. The statistics I am looking at come from your employer, and it is your employer who estimates that only 4-5% are not genuine. So it's not just me that is suggesting it; the company that pays your wages is suggesting it too. I would have thought that it is quite difficult for you to suggest that those figures are grossly inaccurate when they come from your own employer, especially when you have nothing to back up your assertions apart from your experiences in your job, which will clearly be inherently skewed and biased in any event due to the nature of that job.

Ok well when everyones premium sky rocket through injury claims.... we'll see then if my views are skewed and biased

Crazy_Jamie

adamc260 wrote: »

Ok well when everyones premium sky rocket through injury claims.... we'll see then if my views are skewed and biased

Guardian_Article wrote:

During the three months to the end of June, car insurance premiums went up by 11.5% to £704 for an average annual comprehensive car policy, according to the AA British Insurance Premium Index. This is the biggest increase recorded by the motoring organisation since it started tracking quarterly insurance premium trends 16 years ago.

This cost is the average of the cheapest three premiums quoted for those shopping around at renewal time, a measure the AA uses because it is closer to what most people pay for their insurance. The overall average premium has risen even more in the last quarter, by 12% to almost £1,000. This is up from just under £800 a year ago and £337 in 1994 when the index started.

Cases of insurance fraud have been on the rise since the recession began. Figures to be published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) later this week are expected to show that these are still on the rise. As it is, the ABI puts the total cost to the industry of undetected general insurance claims fraud at £2bn per year. This adds around £40 a year to the insurance premiums paid by all policyholders.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jul/19/fastest-car-insurance-cost-rise

It seems a bit of a stretch to attribute rising insurance premiums solely to fraud when figures from the ABI suggest that only £40 of the average insurance premium of £704/£1000 (depending on calculation method). Fraud has been on the increase during the recession (I don't deny that), but the percentage figures are still low compared to what the average person expects.

On a side note, it is worth considering whether or not the number of injury claims has increased due to fraud, or whether they have increased due to the saturation of advertising on the subject on television in recent years. I would suggest that, given the percentage estimates from official sources in relation to fraud, it is quite clearly the latter. More claims are being made not because fraud is rampant, but simply because more people are aware that they can claim for their injuries. It is no more complex than that.

Anyway, this subject has been done to death on these forums, so in case the OP has any further questions to raise I'll be leaving my contribution to this there for the time being. No doubt it will be revisited in another thread at another time.

maximus999

Hi all again, Carry on talking about what you are all talking about as i do find it very interesting.
I am in the same boat as many of yourselves in the thinking of whiplash is a way of making easy and it really annoys me as i know many people who put in for it to get easy money but in my case i cant stress enough it is genuine. I am not going to milk the insurance company for years of pain and suffering as i said, i believe my aches and that will go away soon, as stated insurance has gone up!, mine has shot up £200 this year alone, WHY? because there is a majority of people scamming these companies and it is the law obiding citizen like me and others who have to pay extra for these so called dodgy claims.
The accident i had demolished a plastic wheel arch on my 4x4, this plastic wheel arch in the past i have tried to smash one up with a hammer and put into the bin, and believe me it took some doing, so looking from that the smack which this bigger 4x4 gave me was severe, there is 2 dints on my panels along with scratches and the car pulls to the left when it is driven, hence why it has sat in the front street since sunday. The other person hit my rear passenger side wheel which put me into a spin, as it was very icy on the road at the time, even though the council had put grit down, all i felt like was a rag doll being thrown into my door card. It wasnt forward and back motion it was from side to side and with my car being a 4x4 the suspension is very rolly if you understand, had it been a car i was in i dont think it would have rolled from side to side as much.
Anyways thanks for your comments and please remember there are genuine claims which come out of car accidents.
As for the insurance company i can not fault them for their service to me which alone i am grateful for at this point even if they do for whatever reason contest my injury claim.

danlojo

maximus999 wrote: »

The pain which i am in i would class as minor and will probably go in a few days to a week to which i am currently off work for.

Dont count on that as it's over a year since my accident and I'm still having problems with my neck and shoulder:sad::sad:

Alison_B

My apologies for my comments earlier OP I was not doubting your injuries.

Let me explain why my comments. My ds was coming home from work a couple of weeks ago. It was dark, raining and heavy traffic/standing traffic. The car in front moved off and so did my son, then the car in front slammed on his brakes. My son braked quickly but scraped the bumper of the other car. It was only a scratch and the repair has come back as £211 which included paint, labour and VAT so it shows how much of an accident it was. The people in the other car have gone to one of these solicitors that do a no win no fee and are now claiming for whiplash and saying that they have had to have in excess of 2 weeks off work. The insurance people said to my son that this seems very excessive for the damage caused to the car but there is nothing that they can do about it. They will just have to pay up. This accident happened at no more than 5 mph if that.

We had sorted out to pay the bill for the car damage but now that a PI claim has been accelerated, it has to go through the insurance. Now my son has lost his no claims and his insurance will more than likely go through the roof (as if it wasn't high enough before).

Hopefully now you will see why I was annoyed.

SusieWinwood

Just to add my two penneth in. I was involved in a crash in January 1997. My ex was driving, I was a passenger. The car pulled out of a blind junction straight into our path and we t boned him. I was in A and E an hour after with pain in my neck and shoulders.

I never had an xray just sent home with painkillers. I did have an xray for my claim the year after and the Cons said I'd be ok within 18 months 2 years. :mad: I was paid £2000 compensation in March 1998.

Almost 14 years later, I still have severe pain in my neck back and shoulders. Physio, traction and acupuncture have zero effect. I go to the Osteopath at £32 a session to have my spine and neck put pack in place. I ended up with 4 compressed vertebra, 2 of which have gone back in, the remaining 2 will never go back in properly.

Just because the OP doesn't have severe pain now doesn't mean it will not appear in the future.

BTW Osteopathy is considered an 'alternative therapy' so not available on the NHS so sessions have to be paid for. :mad: I usually have 3 sessions to get right, so these £100 soon add up!