Personal injury claims cost the insurance industry an enormous amount of money year in, year out and the costs continue to rise.

Fradulent personal injury claims are so prevalent that personal injury investigation is one business that is bucking the trend and continuing to prosper as insurers look to assure monies paid out are appropriate and indeed legitimate.

In such economic climates as currently being experienced across the globe at the moment, insurers are bracing themselves for a steep climb in the number of claims, genuine and fraudulent, as the recession takes hold.

David Williams, claims director at AXA, says:

“Surveillance is highly sensitive but in the first 10 months of last year, private investigators saved AXA £39.86m. That’s 10 times the amount for the whole of 2004.”

The job is never going to be easy but it is clearly necessary and claims tend to be significantly reduced rather than rejected in their entirety.

There is of course the impression of shady characters, hidden cameras and tape recorders but in the main, investigators work on the theory that if people are not expecting to see it, they won’t, so it is unlikely you will even know they were watching you until the negotiations to settle the claim enter the final stages.

Remember, insurers will, in the end, pass all injury claim costs on to the customers, so the next time you hear a friend boasting about having conned an insurer by feigning injury, they have conned you really and you will end up paying for it.

Ronaldo has just found out that just because you have had your car repaired or replaced following an accident/incident, it does not necessarily mean your claim has been completed.

Ronaldo, Fifa’s world player of the year, thankfully walked away unhurt from the accident when he wrote off his £200,000 Ferrari following collision with the walls of a tunnel running underneath Manchester Airport runways and subsequently hitting metal handrails that protect an emergency exit in January.

The Manchester United and Portugal winger now finds the airports insurers, (Aon is broker and Allianz lead insurer) are in the process of claiming for property damage believed to be in the region of some £20,000 for repairs to the tunnel.

Just like any other insured person, Ronaldo’s insurance premium also covers damagae to third party property and as you see, the costs soon mount up. These costs do not take the additional time and expense incurred by the police and other emergency services involved in the associated traffic management during the incident and subsequent clean up.

Let’s also not forget of course, anyone else caught up in the traffic chaos, the accident undoubtedly caused when roads around such a busy airport were affected for a period.

AIRMIC, which represents nearly 1,000 risk managers, including 75% of the FTSE 100 believe standards are set to improve following publication of  a new best practice guide.

The Association of Insurance and Risk Managers state the guide will give insurers the opportunity to demonstrate how they measure up to the criteria set out in the document. The association has embarked upon a series of discussions with leading insurers and already secured agreement with some of the major insurance companies such as AXA, AIG, Royal Sun Alliance and Zurich about applying the guide.

The document lays down 8 areas that determine the measure on the quality of the claims handling services of any particular insurer together with the factors which help to demonstrate the necessary evidentiary information to prove they measure up to standard.

The components are: Culture and Philosophy; Communications; People; Infrastructure; Claims Procedures; Data Management; Operations; Monitoring and Review.

The guide has been produced following a series of discussions instigated by insurers approached AIRMIC, asking for help in assessing their claims services. Airmic said it wanted the document to have two main functions – as a tool for insurance buyers and as a reference point for insurers.

John Hurrell, CEO says:

“Our insurer-partners have given this project their wholehearted support. They genuinely wish to demonstrate that they have an excellent claims service because that is, after all, why people buy insurance. The major brokers are also behind us.”

It doesn’t happen very often but when a person’s car is hit by a vehicle being pursued by Police, where do you stand with regards to claiming for damages and personal injuries?

In all likelihood, you will be able to claim against the insurer of the vehicle, irrespective of whether it was in fact a stolen vehicle, or being driven by a legitimate permitted driver. The fact that it was being pursued by Police at the time is irrelevant.

There are however, some complex legal issues involved and you would be well advised to seek legal advice.

If you are unable to identify the vehicle involved or there was in fact no insurance at all in place, you can submit a claim through the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) who will in essence, act as the third party insurer to compensate you but, if the incident occurred after 1 October 1999, this will be subject to you having to pay the first £300.

You should note that responsibility for the accident has to be agreed, or decided by a Court and on the evidence, your claim could possibly be reduced by a proportion, or possibly rejected if there is evidence that you, or the person driving your car at the time, is considered partly or wholly responsible.

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) attacked the insurance industry and the FSA over the practice known as third party capture.

It is a rapidly growing, controversial approach by insurers of approaching injured parties directly in order to settle the claim before a lawyer becomes involved.

The technique is used in order to speed up the claims settlement process and cut out costly legal actions and keep down claimant lawyers costs.

Claims by the APIL president, Amanda Stevens infers that insurers attempt to bully claimants into accepting lower compensation than they should be entitled to and that the FSA (Financial Services Authority) is not taking action against this activity.

Insurers insist that they deal fairly with the injured party and that the compensation offered is fair.

The FSA began an investigation into third party capture at the end of 2007, calling for evidence of bad practice from claimant lawyers and trade unions but has not, as yet,  publish any findings.

With the economic downturn taking a real hold, the arguments around third party capture is set to intensify with the practice likely to become more prevalent with insurers looking to reduce the cost of claims by offering speedy settlements, and legal costs.

Sometimes, thieves don’t bother to pinch the car, they just steal the number plates, causing other damage in the process for some reason which has to be claimed for from your insurance policy.

If you want to protect your vehicle registration plate from theft, consider fitting the plates with security screws.

In some parts of the country, local garages are setting up agreements with their Community Safety Partnerships to fit the special screws in order to help prevent thieves stealing your number plate, fitting them to another car, and then going on to complete other criminal activities.

It is a scam particularly popular amongst people that steal fuel from petrol stations and legitimate owners of the registration number can find themselves having to jump through quite a few hoops to get the plate back.

It isn’t too much of a problem for the average car owner but if you have personalised plates, it can be more frustrating.

It will be unlikely that garages will fit these screws for free, but they might, if you are say getting your car serviced or MOT’d at the same time.

It’s certainly worth asking and for your own protection, make sure you notify your car insurance provider if you find you end up changing your registration number.

Remember, it could also involve you in having to pay an admin fee to your insurer.

We all know that if you can avoid being involved in any car accident, then:

1) We are extremely lucky and;
2) No claims bonus builds up and insurance premiums will be as low as one can reasonably expect.

Most people sit back, daydream or just switch off whenever something is being discussed which is of no interest in their workplace. If it’s on the TV, they simply change channels.

But for some, the decision making process, and the way those decisions are formulated, can be interesting.

In this article I am to try and provide a brief insight into the work undertaken by expert analysts which helped the Government decide on the strategies to bring the number of road deaths down on UK roads by 2010.

Like all strategies, it must first establish a baseline to measure performance against. This is usually done by research and analysis of data/information. In this instance, it was data from 1994-98.

The Department for Transport laid out its objectives and commissioned expert analysts to conduct the independent review.

In order to develop effective strategies for reducing Road Traffic Accidents, experts needed to gain a better understanding of the causes of accidents and the likely injury outcomes of certain specific type of accident.

To achieve this, an “On the Spot” (OTS) project was commissioned to gather in-depth information at the scene of accidents.

Data was collected by expert investigators (who typically attended within 15 minutes of an accident occurring) in two geographical locations, namely; the Thames Valley and the Midlands. Their prompt attendance enabled them to collect vital data that might otherwise have been lost.

The data collection began in 2000 and more than 2,000 accidents were recorded on the database at the time the experts report was submitted.

To enable them to offer recommendations to help reduce the number of accidents, the database included some very specific causal data such as:-

• The road and environmental conditions at the time of the accident
• Examination of causes and resultant injuries
• The severity of any accident and injuries
• Types of accident
• Types of injury

The report runs to some 70+ pages and must have involved thousands of man hours to collate and put together.

 If you would like to learn more, further information can be found on the dft website by clicking here

Research by a major price comparison website has shown that redundancy can prove particularly expensive for motorists suggesting that losing a job can also lead to a dramatic rise in the cost of your car insurance.

Occupations and the usage of the car have always been major underwriting factors considered by insurance underwriters but according to uSwitch.com premiums can increase by around 20% on average for jobless people.

It isn’t all bad news however as the older, more experienced drivers who have earned no claims bonus will probably find their premium to remain the same or possbily reducing.

If you are young however, say 20 years old, with only 1 years no claims bonus, uSwitch reported the insurance premium increasing by 45%.

Even a 40 year old male without any NCB could find their premium increasing by up to 22%.

Underwriters assess premiums and risk on the assumption that in the event of an individual become unemployed, then their car usage will increase, either because of the need to drive to interviews or because the insured has more free time.

If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself jobless at any time, please do not forget to inform your insurers.

Fail to do so and you could be risking your insurer refusing any claim on the grounds of non-disclosure of a material fact which could have affected your insurance policy and premium. 

In this second article, we will deal with the technical aspects if you are unfortunately involved in an accident overseas.

Try not to admit liaibility.

You may be asked for, and should be prepared to produce your driving licence, the registration document for the vehicle to prove ownership although other evidence may be acceptable and your insurance certificate or Green Card (which has for many years been the most widely accepted evidence of insurance for foreign registered vehicles).

It is ok for you to complete and sign European Accident Statement as it is simply a method of ensuring that the parties to an accident exchange the relevant information and details of the accident. Make sure that you retain a copy and you understand what the other person has written.

If the police are involved, again, stay calm, listen carefully and if you experience difficulty in understanding them, try and explain that you need an interpreter.

In some countries drivers may be arrested and their vehicles impounded, when the accident is serious, to allow time for fault to be determined. If this happens, ask to contact the British Consul or equivalent as soon as possible.

If your car is immobilised, notify your insurers as soon as possible. If it is driveable, then it is usually acceptable to wait until you return to the UK but check with your insurers before embarking on your trip, particularly if you are going to be abroad for more than 14 days duration. You should have been provided with a name and contact details of a representative for your insurer when you advised your insurer of your intention to go abroad.

In the run up to Valentine’s day, it is perhaps appropriate to remind readers about what you should expect in the event of an accident when driving overseas to ensure you know what to expect and any interruption to that romantic few days is not affected too badly.

This article therefore lays out some basics:

It is of course, important to remember to ensure your insurance is valid for driving in the countries you intend to visit.

Under EU law, all car insurance providers are obliged to offer third-party only cover when driving abroad. This level of cover will only pay out for damage sustained to another vehicle or driver - it does not protect against theft, accidental damage, or personal injury.

It may be possible to extend comprehensive cover for the duration of an overseas trip, but drivers need to check the small print, as some insurers will charge for this.

Before setting out, it is important to confirm that your insurance policy provides adequate cover for the countries you will be driving through as the road traffic rules can vary from country to country rules are different.

There may come a time when you find yourself involved or caught up in an accident of some kind.

If this happens, you should stop as soon as it is safe to do so, and place your accident warning triangle at a distance far enough away from your car or the scene of the accident to allow passing traffic to take avoiding action.

Try not to admit liability, say as little as possible and remain calm, especially in any dealings with the local police.
The only document you should sign is the European Accident Statement or “Constat Amiable”.

The subsequent article will offer guidance on the technical aspects.