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Insurance companies give customers “low-ball” payments after accidents

As the numbers of claims made to insurance companies goes up, many UK-based insurers are trying to cut their cost using a controversial method. Some of them have apparently been trying to pay their customers less when they need it, known by many in the insurance and legal industries as “low-ball” payments. By doing this, insurers are only paying their policyholders the bare minimum when they need it.

This practice, coupled with new legislation in the form of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Bill could make it harder for anyone with insurance to get the required amount to pay for all their costs after an accident, as it will make going to legal firms like First4lawyers more difficult. The LASPO Bill was designed by the government to help handle personal injury claims, something which many firms offering such services are annoyed about.

“The LASPO Bill, coupled with the practice of ‘low-ball’ payments is a huge blow for anyone who has an accident and needs to pay for everything from repairs to healthcare. Although insurance companies complain about the fact that claims are up, they should look at what they are doing before they criticise anyone else”, said personal injury lawyer Karl Tonks.

One consequence of both LASPO and insurers paying their customers insufficient sums after claims could be that claims are settled far earlier than they would have been as recently as a couple of years ago. People in this situation could go to websites like Medicalsolicitors.com for additional help, but new legislation may restrict their ability to do that in the future.