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Insurance company claims that their premiums will have to rise substantially due to increased claims were 'propaganda', according to lawyers. The Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association, which represents lawyers taking action against insurers, says figures show personal injury litigation has not increased - and in some states is declining. Earlier, the Insurance Council indicated that people making claims, especially injured acting through no-win, no-pay lawyers, were pushing premiums up. But APLA president Rob Davis (who has represented people suing bus companies) says insurers are trying to "justify extraordinary increases by claiming it is due to increases in claims". But he says insurers are just trying to "blame injured people for poor insurance profitability". "They are happy to attract customers by underpricing premiums, but when the chickens come home to roost, they want to limit their exposure to claims," he says. Insurers are trying to use any excuse to both increase premiums and have governments introduce legislation that restricted payouts. Davis says it was about time insurers "demonstrated some accountability for rises in premiums and stpped passing the buck for their own poor management".