Insurers behaving in 'morally repugnant' fashion over PI auctions

John Spencer, director of Spencers Solicitors, a personal injury operation, has launched a new campaign to rid the personal injury system of what he described as underhand practices conducted by insurers and other industry players.

He claimed that personal injury claims are auctioned off to the highest bidder by insurers with the ‘price tag’ likely to be influenced by the degree of injuries sustained by specific cases, essentially, he argued, putting people’s “misery up for sale to the highest bidder”.

Mr Spencer said: “The auctioning of personal injury claims is yet another representation of just how morally bankrupt the personal injury system is in the UK, and is a distasteful de-humanisation of the suffering of injured people.

“Although such auctions may be a perfectly legal and on the face of it a commercially astute way to conduct business in this industry, we believe it is ethically questionable as well as morally repugnant.”

He claimed that the practice was symptomatic of the times with all players in the personal injury system putting financial gain above the rights and needs of injured persons.

“This fundamental misstep is not only a direct threat to access to justice for injured persons, it is also a key reason behind the eye-opening escalation of motor insurance premiums for all,” he said.

“We are urging consumers to spread the word about this distasteful practice, and implore their insurer to bring it to an end well ahead of the introduction of the ban on referral fees next year.”

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