Motor Insurance claims

Excluding personal injury, both the frequency and cost of accidents was below expectations in 2003. There are several factors for this: better weather conditions, higher specification cars, improved driving calming schemes, greater awareness of the consequences of breaking the law are all suggested.

The worrying thing is that all of these factors could easily be reversed. A quick storm this Autumn, winter snow storms and the market is back to square one. A change of government might mean fewer speeding cameras and speed bumps. The Conservatives are talking about raising speed limits. All these things will have an effect.

Fraud is another issue which has been under control thanks largely to insurance led efforts. However there is still some way to go. Criminals and fraudsters still add £30 to each car insurance policy. 2005 sees the piloting of an industry wide database to allow cross referencing of all claims. This will have a big effect on fraudulent claims.

Personal injury claims are still a worry; claims inflation in this area is still running at between 3 & 4% per year.