Reforms which slashed compensation levels for whiplash claims have failed people injured on the roads and the wider public.

A tariff system in England and Wales reduced compensation to derisory amounts for what are painful, debilitating injuries that seriously upend people’s lives for long periods.

Some victims will not be able to work for months at a time, while others need to pay for rehabilitation treatment not available on the NHS.

Insurers lobbied for the 2021 reforms insisting that people who claimed for whiplash injuries were driving up premiums. They promised the reforms would mean significant reductions in policy costs. But any motorist will tell you this never happened.

Injured people were always the wrong target. Before the reforms it was clear that the burgeoning costs of repairs to vehicles was the real issue.

Premiums have rocketed by 70 per cent since the reforms. Meanwhile, insurers have saved themselves £2.3 billion on injury claims.

The Government is reviewing the reforms as insurers push for the tariff system to be extended to other injuries, which is unwarranted and misinformed. It would worsen the existing unfairness for motorists, further damage people’s route to justice, and would certainly not bring down the cost of premiums.

Mike Benner

Chief executive

Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)