It has been reported that car insurance premiums are to soar by up to 20% to cover the increase in personal injury claims. Well, excuse me but I thought that was one of the things car insurance covered? I know the bulk of it covers damage to cars but it's rare that a car is damaged and not its occupants.

More people are encouraged to make claims for personal injury these days and rightly so. Having to have time off work because of an accident or injury that is not your fault can cause huge amounts of problems in a persons life. Firstly, there is the prospect of being out of work for a period of time. That has the knock on effect of not being able to keep up your normal lifestyle, not being able to pay your bills and possibly, and quite frequently, losing your home due to your inability to pay your mortgage.

When you look at the knock on effect of being incapacitated for any length of time, is it any wonder that people make personal injury claims when they can? Banks are not sympathetic if you can't pay your mortgage - whatever the reason. The same goes for fuel companies - no pay, no fuel. Grocery shops no longer do a 'slate' so without earning an income, you don't eat. Claiming compensation for a personal injury is a must for those who are suffering such inconveniences.

Some of the complaints that have arisen from so many personal injury claims are because people are learning how to abuse the system. Payouts are being claimed by those who don't truly have an inconvenience, simply due to them seeing an easy route to a lump sum of cash. This abuse of the system spoils it for those who really do need it.

There's a huge difference between someone who has suffered during a genuine accident and needs help to keep their home afloat and those that have deliberately instigated a trip, slip or fall to extract money out of various organisations and who can't be bothered to go out and earn their money.

There is also a problem with the amount of money that is paid out for various personal injuries and the lack of consistency in it. One day a newspaper report will show us a person who has suffered severely and received a paltry sum and the next day a personal injury claim is paid out in the millions for a sore finger!

It surely cannot be that difficult in this day and age to come up with some sort of plan whereby injuries of a particular nature and severity can be measured against the way in which they were obtained and a uniform sum of personal injury compensation agreed upon. It shouldn't, but very often does, depend on whether or not you have a good lawyer and this often comes down to the amount of money you have to begin with - a vicious circle.