Report comment

Look. Its as simple as this.

Insurers make money by taking in as much as they dare in premiums and shelling out as little as they can in payouts. That's how it works.

The leftover cash is theirs - be it profits or dividends.

Once you realise this you realise that its in their interests to create a bogey man - in this case "those people who are daring to claim for injuries after being hurt through someone else's negligence" and suggesting that they are claiming more than their cases are worth through exaggeration or, even worse, fraud.

Everyone's at it you see. Its terrible. We would love to give you cheaper insurance but its not our fault. Its the bogeyman.

Now that dragon has been slain what next?

Well, I rang to renew my car insurance policy last week. Despite having the same car, at the same address, having had no claims, no points and being a year older, my premium went up £100. I couldn't believe it so I phoned up my insurers who immediately dropped it by - you guessed it - £40.

When I asked why my premium had gone up this year despite fewer claims etc the rehearsed answer came back that "the floods had cost UK insurers £billions last year and all policies were going up to cover them". No mention at all of the alleged whiplash epidemic.

In basic terms, policies will not go down £40. Insurers will blame a new bogey man. People will buy it because they will be told it often enough.

And before anyone asks why I didn't go on that meerkat website and see if I could get a cheaper price - I did. And the cheapest price on their was £30 more expensive than my own insurers original price. So they had ALL gone up ALL at the same time. A coincidence?

We're NOT all in this together.