Zurich response on referral fees announcement

Following the announcement on the 9th September 2011 from the Ministry of Justice:

Stephen Lewis, CEO of Zurich's UK General Insurance business said: "Zurich welcomes the Ministry of Justice announcement that it is to ban referral fees. We have been leading the call for a full implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations, of which this is one, and we await the full detail as to the way the Government plan to implement this proposal.

"However, this one element will not in itself create a car insurance market where consumers will see dramatic premium reductions. We need the full series of reforms outlined by Lord Jackson - particularly the requirement for a reduction in legal costs which will drive the excess cost out of the system. We want the risk of these fees popping up in another form removed and in addition, there needs to be action to tackle whiplash. Only then is it likely that the costs will reduce for motor customers.

For more information contact:

Keith Lewis on keith.lewis@uk.zurich.com or 07875 885 384.