Record low injury claims fail to bring down insurance costs, as consumer complaints hit all-time high

Commenting on the latest quarterly personal injury claims data from the government’s Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU), published after a Freedom of Information request, Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), whose members represent consumers in the civil justice system, said:

“The first quarter of 2025 was the lowest ever for personal injury claims at 106,113 (125,923 in Q1 2024), a 16 per cent decrease year on year, and a near 50 per cent fall since 2019, pre-pandemic. It is also the lowest quarter for motor injury claims since records began, at 74,211. The equivalent period last year (Q1 2024) saw 90,565 claims, an 18 per cent decrease, and there has been a 53 per cent fall since before the pandemic in 2019. Employer liability claims have also fallen to 9,995, 55 per cent down since the same period in 2019. Clinical negligence claims and public liability claims have also fallen year on year.

“The precipitous fall in motor injury claims should lead to a commensurate drop in motor insurance premiums, but the latest figures from the ABI show that average premiums are still over well over £600 at the end of last year. Incredibly, in March the CEO of leading motor insurer Sabre called for prices to go up, despite announcing a doubling of profits and a near 50 per cent increase in shareholder dividends for 2024. (i)

“So claims are right down, prices way up and yet motor insurance complaints to the Financial Ombudsman hit record levels last year, rising by 55 per cent since 2021 to more than 15,200 in 2024. (ii)

Maxwell Scott added: “It gets worse. Even the Treasury, which backed the whiplash reforms to the hilt, reported that the changes have only saved motorists £31 over the first three years of the new regime compared to £105 (£35/year) consumers were promised in return for giving up their rights of redress. The review of these 2018 Civil Liability Act measures, expected in the second half of this year, cannot come soon enough.

“Ministers must never again be fooled by the insurance industry’s empty promises. While its bosses are cashing in, consumers are struggling to pay the premiums for products which offer less and less.”

(i) https://www.postonline.co.uk/news/7957378/sabre-ceo-calls-for-radical-pricing-changes?check_logged_in=1

(ii) https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/analysis/five-years-of-ombudsman-data-exposes-insurances-biggest-complaints/1454847.article#:~:text=The%20rise%20in%20motor%20insurance,low%20of%20less%20than%209%2C800.