ILC ARTICLE

Failing OIC to blame for low motor claims

25th October 2022

The Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) has said the new Official Injury Portal is to blame for the low numbers of motor claims.

A Freedom of Information request from the Department for Work and Pensions Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) has revealed that claims for road traffic collision injuries remained under 100,000 for the period between July and September, continuing the trend of the previous year.

This is 40% lower than the same period in 2019.

Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of ACSO, said: “If this continues for the rest of 2022, we can expect to see around 370,000 RTA claims for the year, which equates to a more than 40% reduction since the same period in 2019, the year before the pandemic. 

“Recently published mileage statistics from the Department for Transport found that in 2021 car mileage increased by 12.2% from 2020 levels, though it remains lower than before the pandemic, down 15.8% compared to 2019. 

“This would partially explain the overall fall in RTA claims during 2021, but assuming a further increase in car mileage this year, the number of RTA claims has not kept pace with recovering car use numbers.”

He added, “The sheer volume of likely missing claims provides yet more evidence that many genuinely injured people are not getting the redress they deserve. The government’s OIC portal, launched in May 2021, is still not doing its job properly and needs urgent attention if consumers are to regain confidence in the civil justice system.”

Meanwhile, clinical negligence and employers’ liability claims all remained broadly flat during the last quarter, although there was a 10% uptick in public liability claims to just over 14,000 in the period compared to the previous three months.