Whiplash has been a common type of injury since about 50 years. But it is only since the 1900’s that these injuries and the compensation claims made are accounted. Since the claims for less than 2500 Euros were not compensated before 1997, even the statistics for these years are not accurate. It is estimated that only in the year after 2000, the statistics of these claims are properly accounted. The CRU is the body responsible for the notification of all the compensation claims in UK.
Since the statistics have been started, we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of claims being made for the whiplash payout. From the early 2000’s to the year 2005 the number of claims was almost constant with an average of about 0.275 million claims. 2006 saw a sudden increase of about 10% compared to 2005. In the year 2009 the number of claims as reported by the CRU was 0.46 million. This huge increase in the recent years has been a big cause of concern for the insurance providers because with the increase in claims there is definitely an increase in the motor insurance premium which has to be paid by the vehicle owner.
About three fourths of the motor insurance claim being made has been the whiplash injury claim and is said to be equal to 20% of an insurers premium on an average. The increasing cases of frauds are definitely an additional cause of concern.
UK stands out in the increase in the number of claims being made. The most probable reasons are the absence of strict rules and restrictions. For example, in Germany there is a limit of 10Kmph only above which compensation claims can be made. Speeds below this at the time of accident from behind and are not thought to cause any whiplash injury.
Several insurance providers are trying their best in order to persuade the government to do frame strict laws for claiming whiplash so that the number of frauds can be decreased.