Liverpool 'whiplash claim capital of Britain'

Liverpool named 'whiplash claim capital of Britain'

Liverpool has been named as the whiplash claim capital of Britain.

Some 55% of road accidents in the city resulted in a third party injury claim last year compared to a national rate of just over 30%, professional finance body The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) said.

The proportion of accidents involving a claim increased by 1.5% nationwide. This followed a reduction of 5.1% the previous year after the introduction of legislation to crack down on bogus cases.

The IFoA said the rise may be attributed to the action of claims management companies (CMCs), whose turnover increased by 30% to £310 million in the year to March 2015.

North-west England has the highest concentration of CMCs followed by London, the South East and the West Midlands.

The region with the highest ratio of third party injury to third party property damage in the UK was also identified as the North West with 43%.

David Brown, one of the authors of the IFoA report, said: "The impact of recent claims inflation will be greatest in those areas of the country with the most claims.

"This will mean the pressure to increase premiums will be greatest there too - and here I fear that Liverpool is front of the queue."

He called for further reform of the industry following the implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act in 2013 to reduce fraudulent claims.

The Government is due to review the regulation of CMCs next year.

Mr Brown explained: "CMCs currently make it much easier for claimants in cities like Liverpool to make claims as they assist individuals in making claims for items such as compensation and provide access to solicitors.

"We fully expect the Government review to consider how the rights of claimants stack up against the desire, for example, of Liverpool motorists for lower insurance premiums."

The IFoA report analysed data from 18 of the top 20 motor insurers.