It has been reported that the Law Commission has said that legislation should be changed so that in England and Wales an insurers priority is to make payment in valid claims for compensation within a reasonable time.

It has been suggested that insurers who unreasonably delaying paying compensation to those with valid compensation claims should be should be liable for damages for foreseeable loss.  In England and Wales if an insurance company delays in paying compensation or refuses to pay compensation then the entitled person can sue however they can not claim for loss they might suffer due to the length of time it has taken them to be receive the compensation.

Things work differently in Scotland where normal principles of contract law apply and the proposal is that England and Wales are bought into line with the law for compensation claims in Scotland.