A leading legal expenses industry figure has called on insurers to focus on the problem of poor access to justice, rather than the "compensation culture".
Brian Raincock, chairman of the Access to Justice Group and managing director of Litigation Protection and Resolve Services, said: "Last month, the Institute of Actuaries published a report on the costs of the compensation culture.
"Clearly written in the interests of defendant insurers, it ignored the fact, established in authoritative independent research by Datamonitor, that the number of personal injury claims is actually falling."
Raincock said the focus on the compensation culture "masks the real problem that, despite far-reaching reforms in the legal system, people who desperately need access to justice are increasingly denied it."
He added: "As public funding dries up, the alternative based on no-win, no-fee agreements is being derailed by hard-pressed insurers, who use every trick in the book to avoid paying their legal liabilities and are now holding up payment on over 200,000 cases."
"The outgoing chairman of the Legal Services Commission, Steve Orchard, has highlighted some of the problems facing the legal aid system, which he says are encouraging solicitors to abandon publicly-funded work in favour of more lucrative private work. The new civil justice regime could overcome these difficulties. But it does require a fresh approach from solicitors."
"For too long, they have been charging fees which are wholly disproportionate to the potential damages and are now adding insurance premiums and success fees, all of which have to be paid in successful cases by defendant insurance companies."
"Some good progress is being made, for example in introducing fixed fees for low-value road traffic accidents. However, it is vital that claimant lawyers and defendant insurers now work hard to achieve an accord over the introduction of the scheme agreed in principle at the Civil Justice Council 'Big Tent' in December.
"Defendant Insurers, such as Norwich Union, Zurich, Groupama and AXA have indicated that, if a solution to low-value road accident claims could be found, they may be prepared to adopt a more conciliatory approach to other categories of litigation."
Raincock concluded: "The Lord Chancellor's Department has created the legal infrastructure to improve access to justice, but if this is to work in the interests of individuals and small and medium-sized businesses all parties must forget past practices and develop and introduce new ideas."