The Legal Expenses Insurance Group (LEIG) has voiced strong opposition to any increase in the small claims limit for personal injury claims.
The LEIG said research by the group concludes it would be "highly detrimental to claimants for the personal injury small claim limit to be increased."
The LEIG said: "The personal injury limit has not increased since 1991 and for very good reasons. The group believes these reasons remain even more valid today following the withdrawal of legal aid and compensation reforms introduced and planned for the next year or two."
Director of the LEIG, Tony Baker, said: "Any increase from the current £1,000 limit would seriously prejudice the ability of claimants to pursue compensation claims.
"Now is not the time to experiment with the interests of people entitled to receive fair compensation for accidents and injuries that are the fault of others. The limit must remain at £1,000."
LEIG said its research concludes that any increase in the limit for personal injury claims would be likely to:
Make it more difficult for people to seek compensation; most personal injury claimants would be unrepresented and this will deter a large number from bringing claims.Reduce the awards to many of those who do persevere: a survey of cases valued at up to £5,000 found that there was an uplift of around 50% on average from the first offer to final settlement. Without legal guidance and help most claimants are likely to be significantly under compensated.Put claimants to the mercy of defendant insurers and reliant on them to deal fairly both in looking after the interests of their policyholders and those of claimants; far from the current level playing field, a higher limit would result in a system geared to restricting access to help and advice, medical investigation and legal representation. There would be reduced costs to insurers. They may increase their profits and/or reduce some premiums by a pound or two but it would be at the expense of the unfortunate small percentage of the public who are hurt or injured.Leave claimants confused and unclear as to what compensation they should accept; a MORI survey found that almost 80% of respondents were not confident that an insurer in the pre-court negotiations would offer them the correct amount of compensation if they did not have a solicitor assisting them.
