Car insurance premiums pushed up by £30 a year because of £2.4m daily bill to ...
James Dalton, the ABI's head of motor and liability insurance, said: ‘Since its introduction in 2010 the fast-track process for settling lower-value personal injury claims has led to significantly quicker compensation pay-outs. But the fixed costs in the process remain too high.
‘The UK's compensation system is riddled with disproportionate and excessive legal costs, often exceeding compensation awards. This means higher insurance costs for motorists and businesses and a heavy cost burden on local authorities and the NHS’
Mr Dalton added: 'The Government must press ahead with the much-needed reform of our dysfunctional compensation system, which, together with the ban on the selling on of personal details of potential claimants, will enable solicitors' fixed fees to be reduced to more realistic levels.
‘Lower legal costs will help bring down the cost of motor insurance for all drivers.’
In November the Daily Mail revealed how rising bogus whiplash claims at the rate of 1,500 a day are adding 90 to the average car insurance policy – despite a drop in accidents.
Turnpike asphalt spill mess likely to drag on for months
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will file a second claim with Travelers Indemnity Co. to recoup costs from cleaning up a massive asphalt spill on the toll road in November.
Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said the gooey material was collected into barrels that had to be shipped to a landfill that accepts hazardous materials. The commission's newest claim will seek reimbursement for those disposal costs.
The commission's first claim aims to recover the money spent on clearing the road and repairing damaged equipment, DeFebo said.
DeFebo couldn't immediately say how much money the turnpike is trying to recover.
A Travelers spokeswoman and the insurer's attorney couldn't be reached for comment.
Travelers is the insurer covering Marino Transportation Services, also known as MTS Transport of Stevensville, Md., which spilled the goo over a 40-mile stretch of the eastbound side of the Turnpike between the New Castle and Allegheny Valley exits.
