Injury victims losing out to insurance company pressure

Insurance companies are being accused of exploiting accident victims by pressurising them into accepting reduced compensation awards before they have the chance to get independent advice.

Lawyers in Nottingham say insurers are increasingly approaching victims within days of the accident when they are often confused and vulnerable.

The high pressure tactics have become so widespread that the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has sent a dossier to the Financial Services Authority highlighting several cases where insurers have tried to settle claims at far below their true value.

Marcus Brown, of Andersons Solicitors in Nottingham, said: "The public needs to be warned about this. If you are injured because of someone's negligence and through no fault of your own then you are entitled to be compensated for what could be life and career affecting injuries.

"It is outrageous that some insurance rep should pressurise you into accepting a reduced settlement before you've had time to think.

"The problem for many injury victims is that they have no idea how much compensation is fair and the insurers exploit this. We've seen cases where offers of only £4,000 from the insurers are finally settled for as much as £35,000 once the victim gets independent legal advice and the claim is properly handled."

The Financial Services Authority is the body responsible for regulating the behaviour of insurance companies. It is currently liaising with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers to find ways of dealing with the problem.

For more information please contact Marcus Brown on 0115 947 0641.

Motorists wasting millions on ‘pointless’ personal injury cover

Thousands of motorists in Nottingham are wasting money on unnecessary legal expenses insurance, according to a city lawyer.

The insurance usually costs between £15 and £20 and is included in most motor policies to cover personal injury claims. The charity campaign group, the Motor Accident Relief Society, estimates that needless insurance costs drivers £270m a year and it has called for an investigation into the system by the Office of Fair Trading.

Faizal Essat, of Andersons solicitors in Nottingham, says the charge is just a way for insurance companies to earn more money from the unwitting motorist who doesn’t even need legal expenses cover.

“Most personal injury claims are handled on a no win, no fee basis which doesn’t cost the driver anything. He’ll also be able to choose a solicitor for himself.

“If he makes a claim using his legal expenses insurance, he may find his claim is sold to a solicitor chosen by the insurance company.

“The solicitor assigned to him may have to pay a fee of about £600 or £700 for the privilege of taking on the case. In those circumstances, the solicitor may be tempted to cut corners to reduce his costs and so not provide the best service.”

Faizal Essat says the system suits insurance companies because they get paid when they sell the insurance and then get paid again when they sell the case. However, it does nothing to help drivers.

“The motorist would be better off keeping his money and then if ever he needs to make a claim, he can choose a solicitor to deal with the case on a no win, no fee basis.”

Faizal Essat is a Legal Executive Advocate at Andersons Solicitors he can be contacted on 0115 988 6707 or by emailing: fessat@andersonssolicitors.co.uk

Ministers drop plans that would hinder injury victims

The government has dropped plans which would have made it more difficult for people pursue personal injury claims with a compensation value below £5000.

At the moment, people can usually get legal representation in cases worth more than £1000 because their solicitor is able to recover legal costs from the insurers of the person who caused the injury. That system came under threat because of proposed changes to the small claims court. The small claims court can only hear cases worth under £1000 and neither side can claim costs from the other, even if they win their case. This means most people represent themselves as they would be unable to afford legal representation. As the figures involved are quite small, that isn’t usually too much of a problem.

However, the government then considered raising the limit for cases in the small claims court to £5000, again with both sides paying their own costs. This would have meant ordinary members of the public having to represent themselves in much more valuable cases and would have effectively left them at the mercy of wealthy insurance companies with their unlimited resources.

Thankfully, the government has decided against changing the system so the limit in the small claims court remains at £1000, meaning victims will be able to get legal representation on more serious cases.

This is particularly important as a recent survey carried out by the Law Society found that four out of five injury victims believe that without the backing of a solicitor they wouldn’t be able to get insurers to pay the correct amount of damages.

A separate MORI poll found that two thirds of people who suffer injury through someone else’s negligence would not pursue compensation through the small claims court without the help of a solicitor.

We are happy to advise accident victims who have been injured through no fault of their own and as a result of someone else’s negligence. Please contact Faizal Essat for details.