Plaintiffs’ lawyers are continuing their push to unwind tort reforms, which presumably means the reforms are working and the lawyers’ bank accounts aren’t. In the face of a multi-faceted onslaught from various lawyer groups, the Insurance Council of Australia has rejected claims that the push for tort reform came from insurers.

Executive Director Alan Mason says the move for reform began in the electorate offices of members of parliament – not among insurers, as asserted by lawyers’ lobby groups.

He also says tort reform did not fuel recent profits in the sector. “Insurers did not expect governments to fix their commercial problem. They did what any business must do to remain viable – they withdrew from unprofitable areas or continued to raise prices to match the increase in claims costs.”

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority statistics for the December quarter 2003 show that public liability represents 7.8% of insurers’ total revenue. “That’s hardly a figure on which to build company profits,” Mr Mason said.

Last week Sunrise Exchange News reported that the Law Council of Australia wants to unwind recent tort reforms in the hope of boosting damages payouts and the level of personal injury litigation.

Australian Lawyers Alliance President Tom Goudkamp rejects Mr Mason’s contention that tort reform has had a beneficial effect on the market. “That’s not what insurers interviewed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission say – they all claim that tort reform has not affected their business yet.”

Mr Goudkamp says the contradiction shows why the insurance industry can’t be trusted over tort reform.