You can see advertisements everywhere you look, from phone books to billboards to even the televisions and newspapers. “Have you been in an accident? Then contact us NOW.” Graphic pictures of victims at the scene with large, bold headlines and promises of free representation can be seen everywhere. You can even find a short term loan to hold you over until settlements arrive.

Now there is speculation that all these personal injury claims are making insurance costs rise. Some companies no longer offer motor insurance because of the growth in claim cost. The bureau?s regional services manager has cited several instances where, even though the vehicles were barely damaged, people asked for and were awarded huge settlements for their injuries. The insurance company supports paying people for their actually injuries, but she says the claimants expect a lot more money than they really deserve.

Depending on the company, you can experience different increases in insurance premiums due to the large claim amounts. If you are a low risk driver, you’ll most likely see an increase of 15 to 35 percent. And, if you’ve had the misfortune of getting a ticket or having an accident, your auto insurance premiums can go up even more.

Of course, lawyers claim there is no connection between the growth of advertising and the growth of insurance claims. The number of advertisements and the number of claims has been connected by the insurance bureau. One lawyer says he just doesn?t understand this link. When someone has a good claim to make against another driver, they should be allowed to do so. The offer of short-term loans on the promise of future claims may be a violation of the lawyers? code of ethics. Law associations are researching this.

By advertising personal injury services, law firms will get business from those already considering a claim. This is one personal injury lawyer’s opinion. He doesn’t have an issue with that at all. He goes on to say that, “It’s a shame that retaining a lawyer to advice you of your rights is considered such a bad thing by the insurance industry.” While insurance company fees have gone up in recent years, and there are certainly reforms to be made, he doesn’t get much cooperation from the insurance industry to make those changes, apparently.

Looking into accident prevention, as a means of reducing claim costs, is the suggestion of the President of the Bar Association. There isn’t any lobbying by insurance for increased fines for photo radar or bans on cell phone use by drivers, he said. He also wonders why insurance companies don’t call for improved road safety for the decrease of accidents. He did note that insurance profits have been severely cut, and their investments have suffered of late.

Insurance company advocates are lobbying for the passage of laws meant to prevent those injured in car accidents from obtaining multiple recoveries for the same incident. Most cases involve the victim asking to be compensated for the time they have been off work, while they have already been compensated for that by a company benefit plan. Even more egregious is the fact that such compensation is paid based on gross pay, rather than net pay which has had tax withheld. This provides claimants a reason to delay returning to work or to refuse to return at all. People realize they will be paid even more for being off longer amounts of time.

Attorneys suggest that they are unaware as to the exact size of the plaintiffs’ tort bar, though they are pretty certain that there are not many more venues in which they could find new opportunities. Many of the places will allow the victim to sue for pain and suffering, although the injury must be a serious and permanent one. The insurance bureau wants you to think that the aggressive advertisements by lawyers is what is bringing so many lawsuits in, but that isn’t true. Nobody should have a problem with attorneys who are willing to shoulder the expense of litigation through to the point of settlement, or who agree to pay for necessary expenditures should the plaintiff not prevail.

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