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The Queensland government is taking its war against claim farming up a notch with new legislation set to be introduced next year.
The rampant “insidious” behaviour involves using cold calls and social media to encourage people to claim for compensation for injuries due to a car crash, with their private information sold to solicitors.
The move comes after an RACQ scam directed to major news organisation ABC, in which a journalist recorded one of the many calls from an unidentified number through which someone was offering financial compensation over a car crash.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said the state government is “very serious” and “determined” to put an end to “predatory” and “insidious” claim farming, with legislation to come before Parliament in the next six to 12 months, ABC and Brisbane Times reported.
“It’s just unethical to cold call and particularly prey on vulnerable Queenslanders, so we’re announcing that we’ll be working with insurance and legal sectors in order to come up with the best model to prohibit it in Queensland,” Trad said.
Trad added that the new laws aim to “ensure that genuinely injured claimants are not impacted by the actions of a few bad apples and that Queensland’s CTP scheme remains affordable and supportive of injured Queenslanders.”
Trad said the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) is already in early talks with the government on the issue, and is hoping to keep raising awareness a “priority.”
CTP insurers Suncorp and RACQ both welcomed the government move, but said further reform is required to better protect Queensland motorists.
