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Insurance premiums will rise after drastic cut to discount rate
Insurers anticipate that average car insurance premiums
could rise by up to £75 a year as a result of a government ruling which was revealed
this week.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has announced a new formula
for calculating the compensation payouts awarded to claimants who suffer
long-term effects of their injuries. Insurers were expecting a reduction in the
discount – known as the Ogden rate – which is applied if an insurance company
makes a lump sum payment to a claimant. However, the reduction from 2.5 per
cent to minus 0.75 per cent is considerably bigger than anticipated. Some insurers said they had provided for a
discount rate move to 1.5 or 1 per cent, with the most conservative rate move
anticipated as 0.5 per cent.
Huw Edwards, director-general of the Association of British
Insurers called the decision to make such a large change “crazy”. He said: “claims costs will soar, making it
inevitable that there will be an increase in motor and liability premiums for
millions of drivers and businesses across the UK”.
The discount rate, which had not been amended since 2001,
is based on gilt yields, or interest rates from government bonds. However, with
the effect of inflation as well, the MOJ said that the real return is negative.
Experts have advised that the hardest hit will be those
with larger insurance premiums, so a driver under the age of 22 may have to pay
up to an additional £1,000 per year. The beneficiaries of this change will be
accident victims as they will receive higher payouts.
The MOJ said that it had no choice but to reduce the
discount rate according to the existing law and they will now launch a
consultation on how the system can be made fairer.
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