A FEW months ago I touched briefly on the subject of insurance claims and the length of time it takes for them to be settled.

The subject was triggered by my wife's experience. Two years ago she was involved in a relatively minor traffic accident, well minor for everyone except those directly involved, when her car was struck by another at a road junction.

Judith is still awaiting reparation for injuries to her neck and back which give her continued discomfort. There must be any number of people reading this column who have similar tales to tell. That could all be about to change.

The American method of chasing insurance claims -- no win, no fee -- has arrived in the UK. These are, by reputation, far more aggressive in approach than the long-established but somewhat soporific British methods of letter-exchange, offers and counter-offers between solicitors acting for both parties.

These days a number of companies specialising in accident claims are advertising their services on TV and, in person, would you believe.

Several times recently in Bolton and Bury I have been approached by clipboard-carrying men and women, thoroughly professional in manner, appearance and dialogue, asking have I had accident within the last two years. Thankfully I haven't but there must be a lot of others who have.

By 'accident' the questionnaires don't necessarily mean the sort of road mishap in which my Mrs was the victim. One clipboard-carrying chap who buttonholed me asked me had I had any problems at work, by which I assumed he meant had I suffered physical or mental problem as a result of something, anything, which happened at my place of employment.

Now this quite clearly opens all manner of possibilities and I can well imagine some people, more ingenious than yours truly, must be lying in bed, plotting get-rich-quick insurance schemes which involve their employers.

The options are endless. Here are a few suggestions, for anyone whose chosen profession is now dominated by computers, which must account for a substantial percentage of the working population. The proposals are not to be acted upon unless the appropriate 10pc of any damages awarded is left in a plain, brown envelope, addressed to F Shawcross, c/o the BEN, Churchgate, Bolton:

Through pressure of work, I haven't been able to take the necessary and legally-documented screen breaks. Because I have been anchored to this computer for hours, I am suffering from repetitive stress injury (RSI), conjunctivitis, backache, headache cramp and acute fatigue;

As a result of the undue demands placed on my physical and mental resources, I am totally wiped out and in a foul mood by the time I get home, intolerant towards my wife/husband/partner/children, treat our two dogs, three cats, two gerbils and a goldfish unkindly, and what used to be a healthy sex drive has gone out of the window.

Need I go on? Given the right amount of 'massage' by a sharp-suited whizz kid, trained in the American legal system's 'nuclear missile' tactics, the above could be worth a shedload of money in compensation.

And if you think I'm kidding, talk to any highly-placed executive of a company, major or minor. They must surely be aware that the sudden appearance of street hustlers asking their employees: "Has anything happened to you in the last two years?" could launch a tidal wave of claims, real or imagined.

Mind you, given current events in the UK --floods, foot and mouth, rail disasters to name but three -- we hardly need to import Yankee Doodle-style claim chasing. We've got enough natural and unnatural disasters in the UK to last us until the next Millennium, which is approximately when, hopefully, my wife's insurance claim will be settled.