Personal injury (PI)
Changes to limitation law must be carefully considered, child abuse inquiry hears
Defendant and claimant lawyers testifying in front of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse yesterday agreed that the current system is not working for victims and survivors, but warned clarity is needed on the consequences of altering…
Driving out Distraction: Public would rather work for and deal with companies that ban distracted drivers
Of the two-thirds (69%) of UK adults who make hands free calls while driving, many of them (40%) continue to do it despite admitting it negatively impacts their driving ability, research from Consumer Intelligence, in support of Post’s Driving Out…
MoJ secrecy on small claims portal under fire
The Ministry of Justice faced criticism on secrecy around the development of the small claims portal at Post’s Insurance Claims and Fraud Summit in London yesterday.
Huge data breach claims necessitate cyber insurance rethink, warns Kennedys
Data subject claims are on the rise and will be “the next in a long line of mass litigations” producing “exposures in the tens of millions”, according to Kennedys.
Driving out Distraction: Is mobile phone use an addiction insurers should worry about?
On 10 August 2016 Tomasz Kroker was driving a truck on the A34 – ahead of him was a very visible long queue of traffic travelling uphill. The truck was travelling at 50mph, and Kroker made no attempt to reduce speed when he hit the first vehicle driven…
Blog: Claims and Fraud – Collaboration will end the zero-sum game
Will the Post Claims and Fraud Summit on 21 November serve as another arena for the claimant and defendant sectors to go another nine rounds of verbal fisticuffs? Michael Lynch, head of insurance partnerships at Minster Law, offers his views.
Post launches Driving out Distraction Campaign
At the beginning of the month the current government confirmed it would seek to tighten the law around handheld mobile devices on the road, but will not extend a ban to hands-free use. While Post supports this initial step it believes that the government…
Rising Star: Katie Williamson, Horwich Farrelly
While working at a personal injury law firm, Kate Williamson became interested in what cases were like from the insurer's side and is now on her way to qualifying as a solicitor at Horwich Farrelly.
Minster Law cuts costs and warns others must do the same to survive reforms
Personal injury law firms face a “bleak future” unless they bear down on their fixed costs ahead of reforms set to come into force next year, Minster Law CEO Shirley Woolham has warned.
This month in Post: Thomas Cook-up
In a week that was dominated by personal injury fracas, the revelation that Thomas Cook self-insured against all but the “very largest” PI claims may well take the cake for biggest botch up.
Thomas Cook personal injury fund unlikely to provide full compensation, lawyers warn
A government scheme due to be set up to pay the personal injury claims of Thomas Cook customers is unlikely to be sufficient to provide claimants with full compensation and may be open to abuse if appropriate safeguards aren’t put in place, lawyers have…
Aviva pushes for tighter solicitor regulation as it claims CMCs are making a mockery of the system
Solicitors must declare the source of their claims leads, Aviva has challenged, as research shows a tiny fraction of nuisance calls have the legally-required customer consent.
Thomas Cook only took out insurance cover for ‘very largest’ personal injury claims
The government has pledged to set up a statutory compensation scheme for Thomas Cook customers, after it emerged the travel company only took out cover for the “very largest” personal injury claims.
MoJ defends position on access to justice for children amid whiplash criticism
Exclusive: The Ministry of Justice has defended itself over a "loophole" in whiplash legislation that lawyers and trade bodies argue could leave the majority of children injured in road traffic accidents without access to compensation or representation.
Aviva's Andrew Morrish on claims transparency and strengthening trust
Although some reports suggest the number of nuisance calls is falling, Aviva's consumer research found that 70% of Brits said they had received a nuisance call or text in the past seven days, with 36% of those who received a cold call or text saying they…
Civil Liability Act flaw leaves children 'stranded in a civil justice no man’s land'
Exclusive: A majority of children injured in road traffic accidents could lose access to compensation due to a flaw in the Civil Liability Act, a consumer support body has warned.
Top 100 UK Insurers 2019: AM Best Commentary - Insurers well placed to withstand strong headwinds
The 100 largest UK-regulated insurers, ranked by non-life gross premium written, reported a combined underwriting profit in 2018, compared to a loss in 2017. Catherine Thomas, senior director of analytics in London at AM Best, explains how they achieved…
Remedying Risks: Slips and trips - better safe than defensible
With slips and trips among the most frequent insurance claims, temptation is high for some brokers to focus on claims defensibility training to improve after-the-event performance. As part of Post's new Risk Management Hub, Douglas Barnett, director of…
Government extends Medco for small RTA claims
The industry has welcomed the government’s response to a consultation into the future provision of medical reports.
Editor's comment: Is it safe to cross the personal injury line?
Historians argue over the origin of the word deadline but several online etymology dictionaries claim the term might have been influenced by use of the word in 1864 to mean the “do-not-cross line” in Civil War prisons in the US.
Interview: Huw Evans, ABI director general
The industry faces heavy scrutiny from regulators and the government over pricing practices and personal injury reform, all while reeling from the prospect of a looming Brexit. Huw Evans, Association of British Insurers director general, spoke to Jen…
Analysis: Should the FCA impose fee caps on CMCs?
The Financial Conduct Authority is working to limit charges for claims management companies’ services, but will new regulation actually be a double-edged sword for consumers?
Senior reporter's comment: Talking ‘bout your reputation
We talk a lot about reputation. Earlier this year, Post held its inaugural reputation event, which was attended by key industry stakeholders.
ABI mulls legal action against government over discount rate
Exclusive: The Association of British Insurers is considering legal action against the government, after the Ogden discount rate was set at -0.25%.