I noticed this evening a headline from the Law Society Gazette proclaiming - on the basis of a report from a motor insurance price index that car insurance premia are at a 5 year low.
See the article at Whiplash reforms cut insurance bills to five year low, analysts claim.
We can expect this to be hailed as a success story and justification for the assaults on the rights and capabilities of accident victims to pursue claims for compensation.
It won't just be the historic attacks that are justified but those to come. Insurers will point to this as a trend and say there is more good work to be done.
Hang on...
Let me say first that I'm suspicious of the statistics and propaganda to date but frankly there is traditionally so much spin from the liability insurers that it's a huge chore to analyse it. Meanwhile, most of us want to look to the future for all good reasons.
It's far more important in that context that the industry and the market is not sucked into some sugary sweet belief that the future is all rosy now and we can trust the ABI to keep steering us to insurance Nirvana.
At a conference in Chelsea just over a fortnight ago - see yesterday's post - I met and listened to David Williams of AXA on this very subject. Whether or not he realises it (we've clashed many times on Twitter) I recognize him and the company he represents as having a good deal more integrity than most players on the Dark Side.
I heard the view he expressed two weeks ago about the likelihood of current levels of premia being short-lived. Those comments were recalled in a brief exchange we had later.
Here it is...
@LawyerAdamPenn @JuliecarJulie @8BallPete @BritishInsurers but they have fallen, 9-12% on average, clearly you are in denial for some reason
— David Williams (@AXADavidW) March 25, 2014
@legalchap @LawyerAdamPenn @JuliecarJulie @8BallPete @BritishInsurers agreed. Frequency reductions haven't come through but here's hoping
— David Williams (@AXADavidW) March 25, 2014
I don't doubt that David Williams and AXA have their fingers on the pulse and if he is willing to say, in the face of sceptical accusations that it's all short-lived, that it is - then I find it difficult to believe otherwise.
So - look out for the ABI hype on the back of today's story and reflect. Better still, spread the word.
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