Personal injury (PI)
This Week: Stoic London
The generosity and heroic nature of Londoners came to the fore this week, when after two recent terrorism attacks the city saw the worst fire in recent history. Firefighters were heralded for entering the 24-storey flaming building and the community came…
Trade Voice: Apil's Brett Dixon on preventing whiplash claims
With some of the most congested roads in Europe and tailgating a major cause of low speed accidents in the UK, Brett Dixon, Association of Personal Injury Lawyers president, urges insurers to join his member in supporting Injury Prevention Day.
Medco suspends two MROs as part of ongoing audit
The board of Medco has removed Tier 1 status from four organisations and suspended two as part of its ongoing audit programme.
Wedding insurance: A promising market
The UK wedding market is worth £10bn and growing exponentially, but the wedding insurance market is comparatively less fruitful
NAH to step away from ‘aggressive’ personal injury advertising
A no-win-no-fee law firm has unveiled a £1m rebrand and a move away from the “aggressive” advertising associated with the sector.
Blog: Cooperation will stymie claims touts and dodgy claimant firms
Claimant lawyers need to report dodgy peers to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, urges Andrew Twambley, spokesperson for Access to Justice, arguing current legislation is enough to tackle fraud.
Gallagher Bassett acquires Strata Solicitors
Gallagher Bassett has acquired Strata Solicitors as the third-party administrator continues to bolster its size and offering in the United Kingdom.
Aviva detected £85m in insurance fraud last year
Aviva detected £85 million of insurance fraud last year and recorded a 9.5% increase in the number of fraudulent claims.
Repair firm feared to be hacked for personal accident data
Personal accident data has allegedly been hacked from a nationwide bodyshop firm and used by claimant solicitors to drum up business.
Manchester Arena ‘regularly carried out terrorist response training’
The company that owns Manchester Arena had previously carried out extensive incident response planning for the threat of a terrorist attack.
Conservative manifesto could lead to reversal of discount rate decision says Apil
The reintroduction of whiplash reform if the Conservatives win the election could come with a reversal of the discount rate, the Association of Professional Injury Lawyers has warned.
Lexis Nexis brings motor claims loss predictor to market
Data analytics firm Lexis Nexis have developed a new predictor of motor claims loss.
Development of Medco platform stalled by election
The development of the Medco platform is being stalled by the shelved whiplash consultation and the general election.
Tory manifesto pledges to 'consider ban' on cold calling for personal injury
The Conservative Party has pledged to consider a ban on cold calling for personal injury claims if it wins the general election.
ERS appoints ex-AA head of counter fraud
ERS has hired ex-AA head of counter fraud, Steve Gaywood, as the new head of counter fraud for the syndicate.
ABI calls for dual rate for personal injury payments in Ogden rethink
The Association of British Insurers has suggested changes to the way the personal injury discount rate is set, calling for a dual-rate system for calculating lump sum payments in personal injury claims.
Horwich Farrelly to focus on defendant insurance work after closure of claimant arm Zest Legal
Horwich Farrelly has unveiled plans to shut its claimant legal arm, with the 42 staff impacted expected to be redeployed elsewhere in the business.
Claims firm fined £400,000 for 100 million nuisance calls
A claims management company has been fined a record fine of £400,000 for making over 100 million nuisance calls.
Whiplash reform shelved in light of general election
The government's proposed whiplash reform has been kicked into the long grass as a result of the general election.
AIG to take $100m hit from Ogden change
AIG expects to record a $100m (£77.9m) hit to its Q1 2017 pre-tax profits as a result of the cut to the Ogden discount rate.
General election 'could delay whiplash reform for years'
Theresa May’s decision to hold a snap general election could delay the Ministry of Justice’s proposed whiplash reforms for years, campaign group Access to Justice has claimed.
Blog: Injured claimants are not lobby fodder
I spent 15 years working for a number of insurance companies before ‘crossing the floor’ to be the managing director of Minster Law, a claimant firm. Whether moving from insurance to the law is a step up the public approval rankings or a step down is a…
Editor's comment: Feeling lucky?
My Irish grandmother always said bad things come in threes. In the last 18 months the insurance industry has faced bad returns on investments, several increases to insurance premium tax and now the huge change to the Ogden discount rate, so the sector…
HCML acquires Excell Medical, opens Bristol office
Rehabilitation firm HCML has acquired Excell Medical Reporting, a Medco-registered reporting company, and opened a new office in Bristol.