In her recent comment article, Catherine Leech puts an interesting spin on Norwich Union's 'personal attack' on the current personal injury claim system (see [2005] Gazette, 6 January, 10). The figures put forward following her firm's review of settlements, suggest that cases are settled for a sum far greater than that first offered, commonly by the insurance companies.


Scratch below the surface and with a quick calculation or two the real increase between the first offer and final settlement does not look quite so substantial. Of the 540 cases considered, all increases taken together totalled £451,000. A large amount, one might think. But if you divide that total by the number of cases considered you are left with an average increase of £835.19 per case. If the one-off example of the £21,500 increase is taken into account, the average increase becomes £797.22.



The initial offer is made before further complications come to light, for example, failure of medical symptoms to resolve in line with an initial prognosis. Against this backdrop, it is noteworthy that 26% of initial offers are accepted. Given the average increase calculated, perhaps it is fairer to say that insurers are seeking to make sensible offers from the outset, to set the ball rolling towards a fair settlement for all parties.



Ben Edie, Vizards Wyeth, Dartford