The Civil Liability Bill returns to the House of Commons today, as trade groups and claims experts argue against watering down whiplash reform and warn MPs about potential, unintended consequences for the NHS.
Laurence Besemer, CEO of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL), urged MPs to avoid changing the definition of claims covered by the bill, which has already happened three times, and block any attempts to remove the proposed cap on damages for whiplash claims.
He said: “FOIL believes that any weakening of the proposals, particularly around the definition and the tariff, will seriously affect the potential for the bill to reduce claims and costs and deliver the savings to policyholders which the government is seeking.”
Besemer also stressed the importance of the increase in the small claims track limit, to £5,000 for road traffic accident claims and £2,000 for all other personal injury claims, particularly since the introduction of these and other elements of whiplash reform were delayed by a year in response to concerns about access to justice.
He said: “[FOIL] believes that concerns at the increase in the small claims track are misguided particularly in view of the concessions made by the government in the Lords following the Justice Select Committee report, allowing more time for the new electronic platform to be developed and thoroughly tested, delaying the introduction of the new regime until 2020. The outcome of the second reading is keenly awaited by all parts of the claims sector.”
Vidisha Joshi, managing partner of London law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, urged MPs “to highlight the gaping holes in this highly questionable bill”.
He argued: “It is staggering that such fundamental reform can be based on such flimsy or non-existent evidence—for example, the Ministry of Justice has never explained, despite even the Justice Select Committee asking, how it came up with the figures in the new compensation tariff. What we do know, however, is that the number of claims is falling, while both premiums and insurers’ profits are rising.”
Joshi added on the small claims limit rises: “MPs must also take the government to task over the increase in the small claims limit for personal injury cases, which is so fundamental to the reform programme but is not actually in the bill.”
“The reality is that members of the public will only understand the true effect of this bill after they are injured in an accident and find their rights severely curtailed. I urge MPs to act, otherwise the