NAHL in a big prang as the rules change

The National Accident Helpline’s daytime TV ads promise crash victims lucrative compensation deals, but its AIM-listed owner was entangled in its own major collision today.

Its shares were smashed 7% in response to the Government’s new whiplash rules.

Insurers were hard hit last week by the changes to Ministry of Justice compensation claims.

But some thought the so-called ambulance-chasing side of the business, like NAHL, owner of legal marketeers National Accident Helpline, would benefit from victims’ higher payouts.

However, NAHL today said moves to restrict compensation for whiplash sufferers and the raising of the limit for the “small claims” track for traffic accident claims from £1000 to £5000 will hit it.

As a result it’s going to “play a more proactive role in the entire conduct and financing of a personal injury case”, the firm said, “resulting in a deferment of profit”.

Its average compensation claims take 18 months “and we anticipate that it will take some time to reach maturity for both profits and cash under this new arrangement”, NAHL warned. The shares fell almost 12p to 153.4p.