Posted On: 27/01/2016
By: Sarah Brown
Once again the government is trying to screw people over on the sly…
It hasn’t been well publicised in the media, but in November the Government announced that it intends to change the law in favour of Insurance Companies and at the expense of injured people. It’s Cilla ‘ere, surprise surprise!
If you’re injured they intend to remove your right to instruct a solicitor at no cost by raising the “small claims limit” from £1000 (which it currently is) to £5000. So basically your claim has to be worth a minimum of five grand for you to have a solicitor represent you in court – let’s face it, a grand is a lot of money, let alone 5k. You could end up with facial scarring for e.g. and have to go and represent yourself in court, while the person who caused the accident will have a solicitor paid for by their insurance company representing them. If you’ve ended up with scars on your face (or any other injury for that matter) then you’re going to be distressed enough as it is without that sort of pressure being piled on. It’s hardly fair is it?
They also want to abolish the right for some injured people to recover any financial damages whatsoever from a negligent party’s insurance company. Doesn’t sound fair either does it? If you agree then please sign the petition.
If the Government manages to push these changes through unopposed, who wins and who loses?
Winners
- The Insurance Companies, who will save an estimated £1 billion pounds annually between them in avoiding having to pay compensation to genuinely injured people. The Government argues that stripping you and me of our rights is worth it, as the insurers can be trusted* to pass on the huge increase in profits that they will be guaranteed to make to all motorists in reduced premiums, averaging between £40 and £50 per year each. *Lol.
- Our experience is that large motor insurers such as Admiral greatly increased premiums for their customers this year, whilst at the same time paying huge dividend payments to their shareholders from profits. Kind of smacks of the banking crisis and government bailouts doesn’t it?
- Admiral paid out over £270 million pounds in dividends to their shareholders in 2014 alone. Insurers cannot (IMO) be trusted to act fairly by reducing premiums if the Government succeeds in stripping the general public of their rights.
Losers
- You, and your friends and family in the event that you or they are genuinely injured as a result of someone else’s carelessness.
- Thousands of people who presently work very hard to ensure that injured people are treated fairly by insurers (and take them to court if they fail to do so) will have to lose their jobs resulting in a higher proportion of people on benefits and less Tax revenue being paid to the Government.
- Do you really trust Insurance Companies to treat injured people fairly* when they know that those people have no legal representation? If the answer is no, then please help us to fight this unjust erosion of your rights purely for the benefit of insurers’ shareholders by inviting everyone you know to sign the petition on this link after signing it yourself. *Lol
Source: NCH Legal
XOXO
Sarah
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