The Trades Union Congress (TUC) this week asked the government to launch an investigation into why insurers are failing to stick to guidelines designed to speed up personal injury claims - and called for sanctions against those that do not comply.

Launching proposals to improve the current compensation process for personal injury claims, it said insurers were ignoring pre-action protocols which were introduced in 1998 to encourage early settlement.


The TUC said that the earlier defendants or insurers admit liability, the lower the end costs would be. It also proposed that employers should face different levels of liability insurance based on their safety records. It claimed there is currently little difference in the premiums paid by firms, regardless of claims.


Colin Ettinger, former president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, backed the proposals. He said: 'If you ask any personal injury lawyer, they will say that insurers' responses are not good, and delays beyond the three months set out for a response by the protocol add significantly to transaction costs. If insurers stuck to the protocol, it would improve the position, and sanctions would be a good way of achieving that.


'I also certainly think that if employers' premiums were weighted depending on the track record, that may well encourage safety.'