Transport committee reopens motor insurance probe

The Transport Committee has agreed to re-open its enquiry into the cost of motor insurance.

The committee said it had acted in light of further concerns about the rising cost of premiums.

The committee has called MP Jack Straw MP to give oral evidence. Straw has published a paper on the rising cost of premiums which the committee says covers many of the issues raised by its 2011 report.

These include the recent increase in the number of personal injury claims resulting from motor accidents, the referral fees paid by solicitors and others to manage aspects of the claims process, and the role of claims management companies.

Straw has made the news this week by condemning referral fees and trying to get them banned.

Committee chair Louise Ellman MP said: “Motorists continue to suffer as premiums increase and there is mounting evidence that the insurance industry itself is part of the problem. Jack Straw’s research is a powerful contribution to the debate and as well as hearing what he has to say I will want to hold the insurance industry and the Government to account”.

The meeting will take place on a to-de-determined date in the autumn, and other witnesses will be called.