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Justice for motorists Contact us Issue 2 Tracking the insurance industry Thompsons Solicitors has been standing up for the injured and mistreated since Harry Thompson founded the firm in 1921. The firm has fought for millions of people, won countless landmark cases and secured key legal reforms. Thompsons has more experience of winning personal injury and employment claims than any other firm – and uses that experience solely for the injured and mistreated. Thompsons refuses to represent insurance companies and employers, invests specialist expertise in each and every case and fights for the maximum compensation in the shortest possible time. Visit us at www.thompsons.law.co.uk Call us on 0800 0 224 224 We say: @ThompsonsLaw Car insurers should cut premiums now – or face a windfall tax on their profits This broken market should be reformed to protect consumers and stop profiteering The Thompsons Tracker is all about standing up for Victim of road traffic accident Accident victims should be free to choose their own lawyer without consumers and injured people and sets out to insurers trying to influence their decision or make money from their expose insurance industry double standards and choice. false claims. Tmhe insuraance dindusetry’s c amtpaigon feel like “aWe h avce wrritteni tom Eldon poisinng a acoml panies are based in the Isle of Head of policy at Thompsons Solicitors, Tom Jones, Download this issue at to stigmatise people who claim for whole series of questions but have Man and controlled by Mr Banks. explains more about the lucrative car insurance industry T 16:34 Page 7 compensation has now descended so far received only what appears www.thompsons.law.co.uk/tracker/2 As well as claims handling services, and Britain’s so called ‘compensation culture’ in this brief into making intimidating to be another standard letter in Eldon sells insurance to motorists three-minute video clip. statements about fraud to people reply.” who have genuinely suffered road under three brands: GoSkippy for accidents. Mr Lehane’s claim is for injuries the private car market, Footprint for suffered in a road accident in van and motorbike insurance and Thompsons Solicitors made a claim Notting Hill, London, in 2012 and Business Choice Direct for following a road traffic accident on Eldon have already paid for the commercial vehicles. behalf of Jerry Lehane to Eldon vehicle damage. Banks and his companies are big Insurance Services (the insurers for “The letter made me feel like a UKIP supporters. Last year, Banks the other driver). Rather than criminal,” Mr Lehane said. “My personally gave them £100,000 while respond to Thompsons direct, Eldon lawyers had contacted Eldon yet Rock Services Ltd, a subsidiary of sent a three-page letter to Mr they by-passed them and came Rock Holdings, donated £394,254. Lehane’s home address warning – Thompsons’ client Jerry Lehane straight to me. When I read the £1.66 without providing any evidence that “The Banks business empire letter, I knew it wasn’t something I BILLION it was of any relevance to him – and, if they had suspicions about operates mainly from what are could deal with by myself. DIVIDEND that fraud “can be punishable by a fraud, they should have put that to commonly considered to be tax prison sentence and could also us as his lawyers. “I had Thompsons there to support havens, which we know (in our view prevent you obtaining insurance me but other people might not sadly) is neither unlawful nor “It would be bad enough if this was cover in the future”. know what to do and could feel as unusual,” said Judith Gledhill. “But an isolated case, but the letter DIRECT LINE AND ADMIRAL if someone was trying to catch when a company that is ultimately The letter also said his data will be appears to be standard because in them out. The wording was run from outside the UK sends passed to the Government, fraud one place the person processing it HAVE PAID OUT £1.66 BILLION IN SHAREHOLDER threatening.” what looks like an intimidating letter detection bodies and other insurers, has left the words ‘name of solicitor’ to our client who has done nothing and queries whether or not he had in brackets. Eldon Insurance Services Ltd is a DIVIDENDS IN THE LAST THREE YEARS wrong, we see it as one more instructed Thompsons and how he UK-based company but it is part of “Eldon boast on their website that reason for transparency in the came to do so. an Isle of Man-centred group of – THAT’S £221 FOR EVERY POLICYHOLDER they are ‘the claims experts’ who captive British car insurance market companies controlled by insurance “The letter to Mr Lehane is worded ‘minimise the cost of claims’ to the – so that motorists know who they multi-millionaire Arron Banks. in an intimidating fashion,” said Judith insurance industry. It appears one of are dealing with and how they Gledhill, head of personal injury at their tactics may be to try to frighten Eldon was owned by Rock Holdings behave.” #CutPremiumsNow Thompsons. “It asked questions they people by suggesting what they are Group until July 2013 when it was should have known the answer to doing is somehow underhand. sold to ICS Risk Solutions, but both Government Dividend bonanza New insurance Inside this issue www.thompsons.law.co.uk climb-down on claims for insurers fraud taskforce Government and insurance The tangled web woven around industry climb-down on Dividend bonanza for Admiral and Direct Line insurance fraud claims Eldon and the Go Skippy brand The Government and the insurance shareholders highlights myth of fraud crisis industry have retreated from their UK-registered Eldon had a turnover claims about the level of motor Britain’s two leading car insurers The final dividend takes Direct Legal Aid, Sentencing and to it have been exaggerated to get in 2013 of £12.8m but 90% of this – insurance fraud in a response to a have announced yet more bumper Line’s total pay-out to shareholders Punishment of Offenders Act. reforms that help insurers make £11.4m – was paid over in a ‘related House of Commons Transport pay-outs to shareholders after for 2014 to 27.2p – 32% more Admiral, meanwhile, delivered a ever-larger profits and to make party’ transaction to Rock Services Select Committee report. continuing their profits bonanza in than the 20.6p paid for 2013. profit from the UK car insurance motorists think that premiums have which is a wholly owned subsidiary 2014. The Government had parroted market of £398m and announced to stay high. of Rock Holdings. In total cash terms, Direct Line figures released from industry body, Annual results released by Direct shareholders will get £407m, a 49p final dividend worth £135m “Direct Line and Admiral deserve The 2013 accounts of Rock Services, the Association of British Insurers Line and Admiral, which between allowing chief executive Paul to shareholders. The company said some credit for operating publicly which is also UK registered, show this (ABI), which stated that there were them write one in four motor Geddes to boast: “I am delighted to this brings the total pay-out to payment as part of a much larger as many as 59,900 ‘dishonest’ motor insurance policies in the UK, show report we have met or exceeded shareholders in the ten years since so that those who want to read £42.75m turnover but from which it claims in 2013 with a value of both recording big profits last year all (the targets set in 2012). After Admiral went public to £1.75 the small print in their accounts can appears Rock Services made a profit £811million. The ABI had also claimed – despite the insurance industry’s paying the regular and special billion. discover the truth. of only £30,000 and paid a mere that fraud adds on average an extra claim to be a victim of fraud dividends for 2014, we will also Tom Jones, head of policy at £2,000 in corporation tax. £50 to every household’s annual “That’s not the case with Aviva and costing anythin g b etween £ 8 11m have returne d a tot al of £836 insurance bill. Thompsons Solicitors, said the AXA, both of whom still refuse to A clue as to why this might be the and £2bn. million to shareholders since we figures were yet more evidence publish separate trading figures for case is given in the company’s The all-party committee challenged beg a n life as a p u bli c company.” that the scare stories about the Direct Line, which was spun out of the captive UK car insurance ‘strategic report’, which says Rock the validity of the ABI statistics, and taxpayer owned RBS in 2012, plans The results statement said Direct scale and cost of fraud put out by Services is ‘a recharge company’ for called on the government to ensure insurers were misleading. market. to pay an 8.8p per share final Line’s profits had been boosted by Rock Holdings, which is subject to the data being used to support key dividend after seeing its operating ‘favourable experience on bodily “The endless claims of fraud, from “This is a compulsory purchase and the Isle of Man’s zero corporation policy decisions that favoured Eldon Insurance Services and the Southern Rock Insurance being profit for the year rise 14% to injury claims across recent accident whiplash to ‘cash for crash’, and the reform is urgently needed to make tax rate. insurers at the expense of injured web of companies they are based overseas isn’t unlawful but it claimants were based on solid £497m.

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