The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has praised the Office of Fair Trading's decision to investigate the UK liability insurance market.
David Frost, Director General of the BCC, said: "The BCC has been concerned for some time by the issue of soaring liability rates. In our view, the insurance industry is putting Britain out of business by refusing cover and increasing insurance premiums to totally unrealistic levels.
"We originally raised this issue with John Vickers of the OFT in the summer.
"We are seeing too many cases from our members where they are receiving premium increases wholly disproportionate to the risk, unrelated to the claims history of the company concerned, or where there appears to be a refusal to supply cover.
"We are delighted that the OFT has decided to investigate the insurance market further and hope that it will put an end to this escalating problem."
