ABI report highlights ‘have a go’ culture

Martin Fox, a secondee from Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP, worked as part of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) team to produce a report highlighting Britain's 'have a go' compensation culture.

The report, published by the ABI this week, voices concern about how the compensation system is failing too many genuine claimants with the "growth in spurious and exaggerated personal injury claims and excessive legal costs resulting in higher costs for consumers, local authorities and the NHS…"

The report is entitled 'Tackling the Compensation Culture: The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill' and calls for action to tackle:

• Aggressive activities of some claims management firms that lead to the public receiving unsolicited texts and cold calls encouraging them to claim.
  
  
• The ease by which fraudulent and exaggerated whiplash claims can be made.
  
  
• Excessive legal costs, sometimes exceeding the level of damages. Legal costs for small value claims in the UK can be up to double those elsewhere in Europe.
  
  
• The lack of any financial incentive for claimants in ensuring costs in bringing a claim are reasonable.
  
  
• The selling of personal information of potential personal injury cases (referral fees) that increase costs without adding any value.

Providing the ABI's view on the issue, its director general, Otto Thoresen, said:

"Our current civil litigation system is failing too many genuine claimants - the very people it should be protecting. Compensators, such as insurers, retailers and local authorities, are committed to paying genuine claimants as quickly as possible. But too often this happens despite the system, not because of it. People can get more money quicker by claiming directly from insurers, but ambulance chasing lawyers can still manipulate the system.

"The position is not irreversible. Other countries have taken action and we must do the same. Excessive legal costs must be reduced. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill provides a much-needed opportunity to mend our broken compensation system to ensure a better deal for genuine claimants, taxpayers, local authorities, the NHS and businesses alike."