Changes in the Compensation Law
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The Ministry of Justice has announced a new formula for the calculation of compensation payments to those suffering from long term injuries as a result of a no-fault accident.
The decision comes as a result of the yields available on *gilts, as the return on bonds is so low it has been deemed that the compensations need to increase to ensure the claimant has enough money later on in life.
If a person suffers a long term injury and awarded compensation a formula is applied, that formula uses gilts as a measure to see what returns the person will receive if they invested the money.
When you look at the yield from gilts and take inflation into account the Ministry of Justice has decided to make changes, stressing that they had no choice.
The knock on effect
As a result of the changes motor insurance premiums are set to increase, according to the Association of British Insurers, by an average of around £60 per year, with the young and old especially hit.
Some insurance companies anticipate profits to fall with Direct Line estimating a fall of as much as £260 million, last year Direct Line saw profits increase by 49% to £315 million following a fall in the number of claims.
The rate known as the 'Ogden Rate' will change from the 20th March 2017. Whilst the size of the change has come as a shock to the insurance industry it was aware that the change was coming. The decision to change the rate by so much has been defended by the MOJ as the only legally acceptable rate that can be set. That being the case it should not have come as any surprise to the insurance industry.
The government will launch a consultation into how awards are calculated, it does make sense that a system is put into place to ensure that claimants are adequately provided for and one that does not need periodic reviews.
When you compare the old rate with the new one a person aged 25 awarded £50,000 per year would receive a lump sum of just over £1.5 million, under the new rates the lump sum will be £4 million, the increase if applied to last year's NHS negligence pay-outs will see its bill rise from £1.5 billion to around £3.5 billion.
*Gilts are bonds that are issued by the British government, and they are generally considered low-risk investments.
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