The government of the United Kingdom are due to unveil new plans to reform whiplash claims. The whiplash claim compensation culture has been a problem in the United Kingdom for many years and as a result insurance premiums have risen, which cost motorists about 90 pounds extra year in insurance costs. The government will set up an independent medical panel that will look at whiplash claims separately so that more accurate diagnosis are provided that should get rid of exaggerated and fraudulent claims that push up the price of premiums.

At the moment it makes more financial sense for insurance companies to just accept a questionable claim. The new rules will allow more cases of to be heard in small claims courts. The Justice Secretary Chris Grayling says that honest drivers are having to bear the price of an unfair system that is open to abuse from law firms and drivers alike.

Ambulance chasing lawyers have been taking advantage of suspect whiplash victims for decades, although many cases are genuine and deserve compensation many are not and are greatly exaggerated. These reforms intend to single out suspect claims so that the real road accident victims get the compensation they deserve and the average motorist no longer have to bear the cost of excessive premiums as a result of compensation culture.

Recent figures have shown that personal injuries due to road traffic accident claims has increased 60% since 1006, although reported accidents have fallen by as much as 20% since then. Driving safety has been improved by new technology and legislation. Because of the high amount of claimants an average of 90 pounds has been added to insurance repayments by average motorists.

The government believe that by having a fairer way of diagnosing these types of injuries will help the genuine claimants get paid out more quickly by insurance companies. It will also prevent honest motorists from getting caught out by fraudulent claimants. The no win no fee deals will be rebalanced so if a defendant looses his case they will not have to pay legal fees or insurance premiums to the claimant's lawyer.

Referral fees are also set to go, as this enables law firms to sell claims on. Also, law firms will no longer be allowed to offer money or goods in return for a making a claim, regardless of whether the individual has a genuine claim.

The United Kingdom government are committed to putting and to the unfair compensation culture that exists in the United Kingdom, as well as reducing legal costs. Insurance companies have committed to putting these savings back to consumers through litigation costs.

These changes to whiplash claims will come into effect in April 2013. This type of compensation culture has made it easy for ambulance chasing law firms to make money out of exaggerated and fraudulent claims easily by enticing drivers to make a quick buck. These changes seek to prevent this from happening in the future. The Association of British Insurers welcomed the plans to protect the average driver from the whiplash claim epidemic.