IT appears that big-brother technology may be one of the main tools in guarding against excessive compensation claims for whiplash injuries. A system that can measure the level of impact in traffic accidents – and help determine the likelihood of whiplash injuries – is already installed in thousands of vehicles insured by pay-as-you-drive telematics-based car insurers. Telematics-based insurance is one of the latest ideas to help save a little on the spiralling premium problems Britain is facing. One company, Coverbox, pioneered the latest generation of telematics insurance which tracks every single movement of a vehicle. Government plans are afoot to address fraudulent insurance claims for whiplash and it is high time the high-tech world helped them along. Coverbox installs a device which records the distance the vehicle covers, and while charging the driver accordingly also records many more parameters – including acceleration, deceleration, speed etc. which helps assess driving standards. But the equipment can also measure the magnitude of an impact which can serve as a very useful guide in distinguishing claims needing investigation from those where a high probability of whiplash exists. A spy in the car? Yes, but careful drivers have nothing to fear. In a way, this type of insurance could be the way ahead because it washes risky drivers out of the system. Never before has driving behaviour been under such close scrutiny by insurers. | 
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