MPs today call for the bar to be raised if claimants are to receive compensation for whiplash injuries following motor accidents.

A report by the Commons Transport Committee into the cost of motor insurance concludes that the rise in personal injury claims is the ‘main reason for the rise in premiums’.

The report says that insurers should require fuller diagnosis of whiplash injuries to prove a claim is valid, and that legal expenses should be cut to ensure insurers are more willing to defend claims.

If there is not a significant fall in whiplash claims, the report says that primary legislation will be necessary to require objective evidence of an injury, or the injury having a significant effect on the claimant’s life, before compensation was paid.

The report concludes: ‘Where someone can demonstrate that they have suffered an injury, including whiplash, as a result of a road traffic accident for which they were not fully liable, they should be able to claim and receive compensation.

‘However, in relation to whiplash, we are not convinced that a diagnosis unsupported by any further evidence of injury or personal inconvenience arising from the injury should be sufficient for a claim to be settled.’

The report says that premiums could be reduced by considering whether the legal costs of low value claims, processed through the pre-action protocol and online portal, are reasonable.

The committee recommends that the government look again at fixed costs associated with the protocol and considers whether the system encourages insurers to concede claims that ought to be defended. The committee criticises the government for not ensuring more transparency in the payment of referral fees.

The Ministry of Justice has outlined plans to ban the fees in personal injury cases by October, but the report says that alternative business structures will mean insurers and law firms can combine in future to continue sharing drivers’ details.

The report recommends that insurers are told what information they should give to consumers, and that ministers draw attention to examples of good practice.

It says: ‘We are disappointed that the insurers, who have complained about the dysfunctionality of the current system, have not done more to improve it.

‘Our recommendation about transparency was met with silence from insurers, which perhaps tells its own story.’

The report followed Commons hearings at which former justice secretary Jack Straw, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly and key figures from the legal and insurance sectors gave evidence.

Surveys of young drivers found an overwhelming majority who felt they were being priced off the road because of high motor insurance premiums. More than a fifth had considered driving without insurance as a result.

More than half of drivers were unaware that after an accident insurance firms often pass personal details to a solicitor, car hire firm or garage in return for a fee.

The Department for Transport and MoJ said the government would respond to the report shortly.