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20 years ago the argument against allowing direct negotiation would have been conclusive. In those days PI solicitors did, in general terms, act in their clients' best interests rather than their own.

But over the last 20 years I (as a solicitor who practised in PI up till about 5 years ago) have seen the total destruction of what used to be a fairly ethical sector of the profession. I have been horrified and disgusted by the truly disgraceful behaviour of thousands of PI firms, particularly those that have sprung up over the past 10 years or so and those which cater to certain sectors of the population, especially in the North West.

I've therefore concluded that the average claimant would be no worse off dealing directly with the average insurer than he would dealing with one of these ambulance chasers. For a start he wouldn't suffer the 25% deduction that they all routinely take, and which is the only reason they have any interest in him as a client.

It's also naive to assume that insurers will routinely try to screw claimants. They are commercial businesses, and they know that their settlement processes will be under close scrutiny, if only by p'd off PI lawyers who have lost work. It just wouldn't be worth their getting a reputation for dodgy dealings, as claimants would soon get the message and refuse to deal with them.

It also needs to be remembered that this will only really affect the crappy low value whiplash-type claims, most of which are invented / exaggerated by creative CMC's and facilitated by bent doctors who will sign any medical report provided they get their fee, as recent fraud cases have established.

The bottom end (appropriate term) of the PI sector of the legal `profession' has long since ceased to be a profession. The vast majority of people dealing with these crappy little claims are not qualified at all, and can't possibly justify the fees they screw out of the insurers and their clients.

Even if claimants are thought to need advice for this type of claim it certainly doesn't need to be provided by a solicitor's firm. Specialist claims advisors with no legal qualifications would be just as well qualified to deal with such claims as the average PI factory employee, and they could do so at a much lower cost.

The sooner these bottom feeding solicitors are removed entirely from the process the better.