Shunts Still Cause For Concern

Recent research by Admiral has revealed that there are over 420,000 rear end collisions every year, accounting for one in four of the total road accidents all of which could contribute to the rising whiplash claim industry.

These figures indicate that the ever growing claims market could be saturated further as drivers fail to heed road safety concerns.

Strangely road accidents have fallen in general apart from rear end accidents which have been bucking the trend.

The general doom and gloom estimate for the future of such claims and the industry in general is that around £500 million a year will be spent as a result of such accidents, most of the money going towards personal injury claims.

Around one in ten of these types of accidents will cause whiplash for someone in the affected vehicle.

Density adds to accidents

Being one of the most densely populated countries in Europe could also be contributing to an increasing number of road traffic accidents resulting in whiplash injury.

Whiplash is most often caused by a low speed, rear impact car accident, the type of which is common in urban areas where there is a large amount of slow moving traffic.

Admiral managing director, Sue Longthorn, said, "Rear end bangs and shunts are all too common on our roads, I think this is indicative of how many of us drive.

On main roads, many drivers don't leave enough space between themselves and the car in front so if that car brakes they hit them in the rear. The stopping distance at 40 mph is 36 metres, the equivalent of nine car lengths.

"In built-up areas, where traffic is so slow moving, people tend to get frustrated and drive a little too aggressively. When they do this there is more of a chance they will bump the car in front."

Billions spent on compensation

The Association of British Insurers, (ABI) have stated that they receive around 1,200 claims every day. With the average amount paid out for a whiplash claim around £5,000, nearly £2 billion is being spent on compensation for whiplash injury every year.

Whiplash alone costs insurers £1.9 billion a year and accounts for 75 per cent of all bodily injury claims.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance said: "The cost of whiplash claims equates to about £66 for every UK car insurance policy, or about 14 per cent of the average Shop around car insurance premium. This is more than twice the cost of claims for accidents with uninsured drivers.

He added: "Over the past year, the average quoted Shop around premium for a comprehensive car insurance policy increased by 8.7 per cent and whiplash injury will become an increasingly important factor in future premium increases."

If you need to make an accidents claim for a whiplash injury speak to one of our injury lawyers, to find out how they can help.