PI awards – insurers’ views taken into account

The insurance industry has been awaiting with great interest the outcome of a number of test cases in the Court of Appeal. The test cases concerned whether non-pecuniary loss (‘pain and suffering’) damages should be substantially increased. The insurance industry had reputedly reserved an additional £700mn against the possibility of an across-the-board increase. The Law Commission (the body that consults on whether changes to English law are necessary) published its report on Damages for Personal Injury: Non-Pecuniary Loss (No 257) in April 1999.