Plans to raise the maximum value of personal injury claims such as holiday sickness in the small claims court have been delayed for a year.
The government’s change of stance means that rules that were scheduled to come into effect in April 2019 will now be implemented in April 2020.
From then, personal injury claims worth up to £2,000 will be able to be dealt with in the small claims court. Currently, the personal injury limit in the small claims court is £1,000.
The delay is likely to affect the number of holiday sickness claims that are dealt with in the small claims court, as many are between the value of £1,000 and £2,000.
Abta said it welcomed the news that the rise in the personal injury claims limit will be carried forward “albeit with a one-year delay”.
The Travel Association said “customers who have legitimately fallen ill on holiday will have an easy to use, convenient source for redress which does not require the services of claims management companies and the firms of solicitors they partner with.”
Claims management companies have been widely blamed for fuelling the 500% rise in the number of claims seen between 2013 and 2016 which tour operators say has been driven by false and exaggerated claims.
Abta, which chairs a panel of operators aiming to crackdown on bogus claims, said it was pleased tha government has “rightly rejected” a recommendation by the Justice Select Committee to set an upper limit of £1,500 for personal injuries, which it said “would fall below the average value of most holiday sickness related claims”.
A cold calling ban that Abta has pushed for is still set to be introduced in April 2019.
Holiday sickness claims have also been brought into the fixed costs regime, meaning a limit has been placed on how much solicitors and claims management companies can charge in costs to process a claim. Operators had been settling spurious claims out of court to avoid paying out spiralling costs before fixed costs was extended to cover holiday sickness claims in April.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, said: “Tackling false sickness claims requires a multi-pronged approach. The government has so far responded positively to the campaign from Abta and its members by bringing sickness claims into the fixed cost regime and banning cold calling by claims management companies.
“It’s important we continue to pursue this issue and the other contributing factors, which is why I am pleased the government has listened to our views and will raise the limit for small claims. We will continue to work with the relevant authorities on this matter.”
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