The car insurance industry is a disgusting racket

The car insurance industry is a racket: I think we all suspected that. But unless you’ve had personal experience of its devious workings you probably have no idea just how much of a racket. I didn’t myself until just recently when I had to make a claim for a tiny bump on the door of my car. Soon, I found myself sucked into a system that taints almost everyone it touches — insurers, garages, solicitors, car hire firms and claimants alike — with corruption so flagrant it’s hard to believe such a thing could be possible in hyperregulated modern Britain.

It all began when Mark, a nice, decent chap who does odd jobs for us round the house and garden, accidentally reversed his van at low speed into the side of our car in front of our house. The dent was so trivial that I probably wouldn’t have bothered trying to mend it if it hadn’t been a lease vehicle. ‘Whatever happens, I want to get this sorted out as quickly and cheaply and painlessly as possible,’ I said to Mark. ‘Let’s not even go through our insurers, if it’s easier for you.’

Unfortunately, Mark discovered after a few inquiries, it wasn’t one of those cosmetic dents that could be knocked out in a trice. So reluctantly, with his agreement, I put in a claim. I thought it was going to be simple — he admitted liability; there was no disputing the details of what had happened; no one had been hurt. What could possibly go wrong?

My first indication of the kind of vultures I was dealing with were the succession of phone calls inviting me to remember the back pain or similar debilitating complaints I’d suffered as a result.