Whiplash claims and consistency of payouts

Whiplash compensation claims cost the UK economy around £1.6 billion a year. They are so common that they account for nearly 90% of all litigable injuries sustained in car accidents.

Yet the issues surrounding this kind of injury are rarely clear-cut. For example, around 50% of all personal injury claims for the injury do not necessarily fall into the simple whiplash injury category. To compound matters, most neck injuries of this nature are also "invisible", displaying no outward symptoms.

In response to these complex problems, fraud and insurance experts at Insurance Services Office (ISO) have created something called the Whiplash Benchmarking Service. Offering a holistic approach to the whiplash neck injury claims process, ISO's service is available to all manner of professionals, including the insurance industry, risk assessment experts and government agencies.

Mark Strang, ISO's account executive comments, "Industry wide, insurers have been subject to a proliferation of whiplash claims. This has resulted in attempts by insurers to bring consistency to the payments they make to claimants, which in turn has seen the scope of claimants' injuries and complications increase.

"Consequently, there is no longer such a thing as a simple 'pure whiplash' book of claims as medical reports increasingly include contusions, fibromyalgia, aggravation of preexisting conditions, accelerated onset of symptoms and other medical conditions. These increasingly complex whiplash claims can no longer be managed by a 'one settlement fits all' approach.

"Many insurers use predetermined payout scales or software that generates a general damages amount to assess whiplash claims.

Strang believes that the service also has the potential to reduce the size of personal injury solicitor bills. "Our customers have found that a better understanding of the injury enables them to make a more accurate claim offer. Offers that are too low are more likely to go to court and end up with higher legal fees. Offers that are too high represent pure leakage. Getting the claim settled as quickly and consistently as possible is in everyone's interest. Arming insurers with more information can only help this process."

No win, no fee car crash lawyers
YouClaim's whiplash compensation service is among the best and most experienced in the country.

Our no win, no fee whiplash claim solicitors are all drawn from panel firms governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and all share a commitment to providing the claimant with a cost-free service.

This means, win or lose, we will never charge you any costs, fees or disbursements. In a lost case, we use ATE, a special form of insurance, to ensure you are not billed for anything; while in a won case, as the majority of ours are, we charge all our success fees to the opposing side.

We also deliver a no-cuts promise, meaning all successful claimants receive 100 percent compensation.

We are always happy to hear from you and can deliver you no-obligation, free legal advice. Just fill out a claim form, have an echat, request a callback, or call us now on 0800 10 757 95.