National Accident Helpline uses new data to challenge insurers’ allegations that late road traffic accident claims have tripled

National Accident Helpline has challenged allegations made by insurers that the number of late claims have tripled by releasing data showing that over nine in ten claims for a road traffic accident are made within a year of the incident, with more than six in ten coming within three weeks.

Sections of the insurance industry has blamed the actions of lawyers for an apparent rise in late RTA claims, but the claims management company has said it has found no evidence of any such trend.

92% of the enquiries that National Accident Helpline received in 2014 occurred within a year of the accident, while 64% were made within three weeks. Furthermore, these figures have hardly changed over the last nine years, with data from 2006 showing that 94% of claim enquiries were made in 12 months, and 59% were made within three weeks.

However, the company did say that if there had been a rise then it would be due to “unscrupulous practices, such as cold calling and the unethical use of accident data”.

Commenting on the data, Russell Atkinson, CEO of National Accident Helpline said: “Most people who contact National Accident Helpline after suffering an injury do so within weeks of the accident, while virtually all enquire within a year.

“This suggests that the alleged rise in late claims is coming from those rogue organisations who are undertaking unethical marketing practices, such as cold calling. Stamping out these unethical practices should be the Government’s priority, not changing the time limit that injured people have to make a claim, which could prevent the most vulnerable from receiving their rightful compensation.”

Mark Dugdale