Car Insurance Scam

Car insurance has been hitting the headlines - with Labour's former Justice Secretary - Jack Straw - demanding firm government action over frivolous claims.

Apparently while the number of road accidents has dropped significantly since the mid 1990's - the cost of car insurance premiums keep going up and up.

For example, in 2009 the number of road accidents - involving personal injury - was 31% down on the five year average between 1994-98.

Yet the cost of claims has doubled in 10 years - from £7bn to £14bn - and as a result insurance premiums have shot up - by 30% in the past year alone.

So Jack Straw has a good point - which he is raising as an individual MP.

Quite why the problem didn't appear on the Labour government's radar - over a 13 year period - is another question altogether.

But to give credit where credit's due - Jack Straw's actually raising a significant issue from the backbenches.

And he has also highlighted a real scandal - whereby insurance companies (and at least one police force) have been 'selling on' people's personal details - which is a clear breach of data protection legislation.

So Jack is doing his best to make a difference - instead of going into a giant sulk about losing his ministerial privileges.

The present government should now follow Jack Staw's lead - because no one wants to see frivolous claims driving up the costs of driving a car.

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