The year-on-year reduction in motor injury claims shows no sign of slowing down, according to the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), which requested the latest personal injury data from the Government under the Freedom of Information Act.
Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of ACSO, said that 2024 was the lowest-ever year for road-traffic accident (RTA) injuries, falling to 328,637 (2023: 352,230), following the publication of Q4 data for 2024. Since 2018, motor-injury claims have fallen by more than 50%, yet there are more cars on the road, and similar annual mileage numbers.
He said: “People are still suffering injuries from RTAs, but they are not claiming, even though they have every right to do so. The government and insurers have worked hard, through a mix of public policy and public relations, to make it increasingly difficult for injured people to get redress, despite continuing historic highs for the cost of motor insurance.”
He continued: “The government's Motor Insurance Taskforce, which is investigating the high price of motor cover, should be asking the insurance industry where the promised savings for consumers are, given that they were stripped of their rights in exchange for these.
"We look forward to the FCA publishing its data on whiplash savings and asking the insurers to fulfil the promises made in 2018, at the time the whiplash reforms became law."
Turning to other categories of claim, Mr Maxwell Scott noted a more than ten per cent increase in the number of clinical negligence claims between 2023 and 2024, possibly reflecting ongoing challenges in the National Health Service, and a 15 per cent increase in public liability claims during the same period. Employer liability claims remained flat.
He said: "All claims, with the exception of clinical negligence, are down since 2018, reflecting a society where injured people increasingly cannot expect to be supported after they have an accident.”
| Volume of Personal Injury Claims Registered with the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) | |||||||
| Liability Type | Clinical Negligence | Employer | Motor | Other | Public | Not Known | Total |
| 1 Jan 18- 30 Jun 18 | 8,978 | 42,151 | 326,699 | 5,036 | 47,950 | 1,209 | 432,023 |
| 1 Jul 18 - 30 Sep 18 | 4,483 | 22,375 | 159,417 | 1,804 | 21,290 | 616 | 209,985 |
| 1 Oct 18 - 31 Dec 18 | 3,944 | 23,517 | 181,261 | 1,848 | 23,247 | 737 | 234,554 |
| Total 2018 | 17,405 | 88,043 | 667,377 | 8,688 | 92,487 | 2,562 | 876,562 |
| 1 Jan 19 - 31 Mar 19 | 4,207 | 22,001 | 156,791 | 1,868 | 21,288 | 597 | 206,752 |
| 1 Apr 19 - 30 Jun 19 | 3,494 | 25,342 | 146,844 | 1,610 | 16,244 | 328 | 193,862 |
| 1 Jul 19 - 30 Sep 19 | 3,908 | 23,491 | 169,217 | 1,995 | 20,101 | 430 | 219,142 |
| 1 Oct 19 - 31 Dec 19 | 4,324 | 16,162 | 181,131 | 1,927 | 19,622 | 504 | 223,670 |
| Total 2019 | 15,933 | 86,996 | 653,983 | 7,400 | 77,255 | 1,859 | 843,426 |
| 1 Jan 20 - 31 Mar 20 | 4,119 | 14,032 | 155,860 | 1,554 | 16,620 | 393 | 192,578 |
| 1 Apr 20 - 30 Jun 20 | 2,217 | 10,531 | 94,973 | 1,076 | 11,778 | 351 | 120,926 |
| 1 Jul 20 - 30 Sep 20 | 2,503 | 10,774 | 104,782 | 1,124 | 12,358 | 298 | 131,839 |
| 1 Oct 20 - 31 Dec 20 | 3,827 | 12,734 | 139,758 | 1,413 | 14,606 | 398 | 172,736 |
| Total 2020 | 12,666 | 48,071 | 495,373 | 5,167 | 55,362 | 1,440 | 618,079 |
| 1 Jan 21 - 31 Mar 21 | 5,938 | 11,648 | 107,463 | 964 | 12,544 | 301 | 138,858 |
| 1 Apr 21 - 30 Jun 21 | 3,938 | 9,866 | 101,679 | 1,180 | 10,834 | 206 | 127,703 |
| 1 Jul 21 - 30 Sep 21 | 3,805 | 11,222 | 90,135 | 1,129 | 14,064 | 249 | 120,604 |
| 1 Oct 21 - 31 Dec 21 | 3,744 | 11,748 | 98,774 | 1,196 | 15,084 | 109 | 130,655 |
| Total 2021 | 17,425 | 44,484 | 398,051 | 4,469 | 52,526 | 865 | 517,820 |
| 1 Jan 22 - 31 Mar 22 | 4,062 | 10,933 | 97,099 | 1,093 | 12,742 | 115 | 126,044 |
| 1 Apr 22 - 30 Jun 22 | 3,730 | 11,594 | 93,113 | 1,031 | 12,785 | 143 | 122,396 |
| 1 Jul 18- 30 Sep 22 | 3,593 | 11,168 | 96,176 | 1,221 | 14,140 | 68 | 126,366 |
| 1 Oct 22 - 31 Dec 22 | 3,311 | 9,651 | 84,257 | 922 | 11,943 | 79 | 110,163 |
| Total 2022 | 14,696 | 43,346 | 370,645 | 4,267 | 51,610 | 405 | 484,969 |
| 1 Jan 23 - 31 Mar 23 | 3,809 | 11,315 | 93,989 | 1,569 | 14,535 | 188 | 125,405 |
| 1 Apr 23 - 30 Jun 23 | 3,406 | 10,621 | 89,361 | 1,578 | 13,683 | 176 | 118,825 |
| 1 Jul 23 - 30 Sep 23 | 4,374 | 10,926 | 85,830 | 1,900 | 14,545 | 157 | 117,732 |
| 1 Oct 23 - 31 Dec 23 | 3,329 | 11,434 | 83,050 | 2,105 | 14,609 | 213 | 114,740 |
Total 2023 | 14,918 | 44,296 | 352,230 | 7,152 | 57,372 | 734 | 476,702 | |
| 1 Jan 24 - 31 Mar 24 | 4,730 | 11,566 | 90,565 | 2,716 | 16,096 | 250 | 125,923 |
| 1 Apr 24 - 30 Jun 24 | 3,176 | 12,001 | 77,785 | 2,210 | 13,806 | 168 | 109,146 |
| 1 Jul 24 - 30 Sep 24 | 3,923 | 11,280 | 76,678 | 2,524 | 18,179 | 265 | 112,849 |
| 1 Oct 24 - 31 Dec 24 | 4,711 | 10,650 | 83,609 | 2,764 | 17,869 | 262 | 119,865 |
Total 2024 | 16,540 | 45,497 | 328,637 | 10,214 | 65,950 | 945 | 467,783 | |