Tom Woolgrove, RBS Insurance

Although it was reported that the rate of increases in motor insurance premiums appeared to be levelling off recently, premiums have still increased by about 30%.

The litigious world we live in means insurers are still faced with severe and frequent bodily injury claims, which is inevitably reflected in higher premiums.

While insurers should pay out for genuine claims, the onset of ‘cash for crash’ fraud and the trend of staging accidents is still prevalent, and the only way to tackle this is for the industry to address all the elements involved in bodily injury claims.

Part of the solution is improving the detection rate of fraud and to ban referral fees. But changes still need to be made to the legal process to ensure it provides help to those genuinely injured, while deterring people from exploiting the process. Only then will there be a positive impact on insurance premiums for consumers.

Tom Woolgrove is managing director of personal lines at RBS Insurance