Whiplash experts need more than ever to maintain their integrity or risk losing their career, reports Mark Solon
Whiplash has become a dirty word in the UK, as the practice of claiming for negligible injuries sustained in even the most minor of car accidents has become widespread. I even had a call from a claims agency myself, insisting I must have a pain in my neck as they had a record I have made a claim for a broken windscreen.
Shocking statistics
The debate is peppered with shocking statistics, including recent revelations from the Association of British Insurers director general Nick Starling, that there is one whiplash claim every minute. Insurers attest that whiplash claims costs their industry £2bn in total and add £90 to the average annual bill.
Unsurprisingly, the issue is moving up the government’s lengthy “to-do” list. In January, Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to prevent trivial claims from going ahead—including consideration of a minimum speed of 15mph for accidents resulting in whiplash claims—and branded Britain “the
