NEWS: Insurance System Fails NSW Road Victims

[AWD Chaser]

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news...-1226141039261

MOTOR accident victims in NSW should be better compensated from the vast profits reaped on compulsory insurance for drivers, the state's bar association says.

The NSW Bar Association is calling for an independent inquiry into how the state's personal injury laws and compulsory third-party insurance system work for people injured on the road.

While insurance companies make huge profits under the current green slip scheme, 90 per cent of victims are left uncompensated, association president Bernard Coles QC says.

"Some of those excess profits should be diverted to accident victims to properly compensate them for their injuries without the need for any increase in green slip prices," he said in a statement today.

"These profits in these circumstances are unjustifiable in a compulsory, public system."

Mr Coles said changes made by the previous government to personal injury laws resulted in thousands of people being denied proper compensation for their injuries.

"The current patchwork of schemes fails injured people in this state, and an urgent inquiry into personal injury laws is required to restore much-needed balance to the system," Mr Coles said.