Motorists A clampdown on whiplash claims will save each driver £40 on premiums. Fuel duty will be frozen, saving the average driver around £130 a year compared with pre-2010 plans for the “fuel duty escalator”.nsurance policyholders Insurance premium tax is to rise from 10pc to 12pc. Drivers will pay £109 more than they did two years ago to insure their car as a result of rises in the tax, according to comparethemarket.com, a price comparison service.
In the Autumn statement the government have pledged to drive down insurance premiums by £40 by a clampdown on whiplash claims. It is assumed this clampdown is by way of the current proposals in reference to the increase in the small claims track to all personal injury claims below £5,000. This proposal relates to ALL personal injury claims, not just ‘whiplash’ claims. This would leave victims injured due to accidents at work, clinical negligence, occupiers liability claims or road traffic accidents either paying privately for legal representation or running the claim themselves. The trade off for this reduction in access to justice would be a saving of £40 on insurance premiums (as promised by trusty insurers). Throughout the last few years the Government have implemented reforms on the promise of reduced insurance premiums to no success. These changes include the abolition of success fees, reduced fixed costs and an increase in the small claims track to non-injury cases to £10,000. Premiums have in fact risen.If this wasn’t bad enough the Autumn statement later divulges that IPT (insurance premium tax) is to be increased by 10-12%, an average of an additional £109 per policy. Therefore, the Government are promising to reduce access to justice for the benefit of a £40 reduction in insurance premiums whilst, at the same time, increasing tax on premiums adding an extra £109 to premiums. It seems these proposals in no way benefit either motorists or accident victims, the only winners here are the insurance companies and the Government.
