F E AT U R E S
The Personal Injury Debate In this issue of Modern Insurance, we hosted a Personal Injury forum with some of the industry’s experts. Though opinions can differ greatly, and we don’t always agree with what we read, these debates allow our readers to see expert opinions and insights into the topic at hand. So, let’s meet our forum experts and see what they have to say. reforms, will injured people acting for themselves find it harder to recover QFollowing damages – further to that, will the damages they receive justify their efforts? Chris Chatterton: Yes, they will, but it all depends on insurer behaviour. Some insurers might make claiming extremely easy, yet others will make it difficult and look for opportunities to refute claims. Either way, it will be harder than it is now - where all the work is currently done for them by a solicitor.
Consequently, I think many people will turn to claims management companies for assistance – and they will fill the void left by the law firms. Of course, many of these organisations might not provide services and advice at the standard we see across the legal profession today. In this case, the current system of one side trying to maximise the claim and the other trying to minimise it will be perpetuated. That said, I think that the level of damages proposed will still make it worthwhile for people to claim, particularly if the process is quick and simple. One particular area that needs to be looked at is fraudulent claims; if insurers make settling too easy, then these could significantly increase. Two big areas are still uncatered for in the ‘new world’. The first is ‘how do I get treatment if I’m injured to help me recover?’ and the second is ‘what do I do if some aspect of my claim is disputed?’. Here, the market is crying out for two things; and at handl Group, we think we have found the solutions to these problems: • A simple digital-based treatment solution that comes at an appropriate market price that both sides agree works. Take for example Speed Medical’s recent introduction of EQL’s digital triage tool ‘Phio’ into its rehabilitation services, providing early intervention and a customer-centric solution to injured parties, and allowing insurers to appropriately manage the claims process; and • A user-friendly, fast arbitration process that can be endorsed by both sides, introducing software ecosystem Claimspace, which settles claims that cannot proceed on MoJ portals, streamlining processes and increasing productivity. Michael Lewis: The loss of the ADR facility in the new portal is a significant blow, which will inevitably mean that unrepresented
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claimants will find it harder to recover damages. Whilst details of any replacement mechanism are awaited, the noises coming from the MOJ suggest that there may be an oral hearing at Court on liability based on information submitted in the CNF. Not only is this adding more Court involvement into the process rather than less, it runs the risk of making the customer journey that much more expensive, longer, and forbidding. The test portal may have a welcoming user experience, but the basic design and flow for making a claim for losses will - in my opinion - regretfully lead to unrepresented claimants making errors that will result in them being unable to claim and receive their rightful damages. Furthermore, the reduction in damages will have a knock-on effect on the amount of time and effort unrepresented claimants will put into pursuing a claim, such that they will either abandon their claim, or instruct solicitors to take over the handling of their case. Jason Tripp: There certainly will be disparity post-reforms between a personal injury motor claim and other types of injuries. These are the unintended consequences of the reforms that impact on genuinely injured claimants as well as those exaggerating or claiming frequently. Whilst the current legal system for dealing with injury compensation is arguably expensive for the industry it does provide an effective route to recover damages. Post reforms, a consumer without motor legal cover that includes small claims handling and alternative dispute resolution (not in scope for the new Litigants in Person portal) will have to manage the claim themselves. This is certainly going to be more difficult and more costly, either they will have to paid for legal assistance separately or do everything themselves - including going to court if liability is disputed. We have a responsibility to ensure we remove or reduce barriers to genuine claimants, putting the customer first and building a service around that principle, is what we need to do now.
