ABI speaks out on legal services costs

Those looking for free legal advice will be interested to hear the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said that every day UK consumers are paying £2.7 million for legal costs, something which should be stopped.

Nick Starling, ABI's director of general insurance and health, highlighted the need for free legal advice and legal solicitors who charge reasonable prices in response to the consultation on civil litigation costs by the Ministry of Justice.

"High legal costs are at the heart of a compensation system that is too slow, too complex and fails too many genuine claimants," he said.

The ABI also revealed that legal costs account for an extra 87 pence on top of every £1 paid in compensation to victims of motor accidents.

Furthermore, a judge last year ruled that the Legal Service Commission's failure to pay adequate attention when it gave contracts to publicly-funded firms could threaten free legal help, The Lawyer reported.