Personal injury (PI)
MIB uninsured drivers scheme mooted as template for child abuse compensation payouts
A model similar to the Motor Insurers' Bureau's untraced and uninsured drivers payout scheme has been suggested as one way survivors of institutional child sexual abuse could be compensated.
Ecclesiastical faces fresh allegations of unethical treatment as case of ‘suicide watch’ claimant comes to light
Exclusive: Ecclesiastical’s CEO Mark Hews is being called upon to ‘put his house in order’ after experts have been left shocked and appalled at the ‘unethical’ practice of desktopping an abuse victim on suicide watch labelling it ‘shameful’ and ‘very…
Aviva's Colm Holmes warns distracted driving is causing claims inflation
Aviva general insurance CEO Colm Holmes has said that claims inflation is far exceeding expectations, pinning the blame on poor driving.
Decisions on ADR and children still to be made by MOJ before whiplash portal's April launch
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau is waiting on a number of government decisions in order to meet the slated 6 April launch date for its whiplash portal.
MIB chases agreements with France, Poland and Romania as it builds Brexit contingencies
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau is continuing efforts to secure agreements with France, Poland and Romania to preserve so-called ‘protection of visitors’ rules that would otherwise fall away if the UK is unable to strike a deal with the European Union by 31…
Hastings sees claims costs jump in Q4
Rising claims costs in quarter four are expected to put a slight dent in Hastings’ 2019 dividend payout.
Government to plough on with Thomas Cook Compensation Bill
The government has outlined plans for a capped compensation scheme for Thomas Cook customers suffering “the most serious hardship” from injuries or illness.
Insurance Monitor: Reflections on the 2019 general election
In the first of a regular column, David Worsfold reflects on the fall out of the conclusive Conservative Party victory in the 2019 general election.
Government still missing the point on child compensation whiplash qualms, campaigners say
The Ministry of Justice continues to face criticism for "missing the point" in its response to allegations of a “loophole” in whiplash legislation that affects children and vulnerable road users.
Blog: The opportunity for legal expenses insurance in a post-reform world
The Civil Liability Act has created some unintended circumstances and Minster Law's CEO Shirley Woolham asks how legal expenses insurance can help in the post-reform world.
Editor's comment: Driving the message home
At 11-years-old my son is getting to the stage where I’m an embarrassment to him. A kiss goodbye at the playground is not cool, in fact he’d prefer to be dropped off out of sight of the school, if possible, and he can’t wait until he is allowed to walk…
Driving Out Distraction Pledge – Why is IAM Road Smart supporting this campaign?
Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM Road Smart, explains why multi-tasking at the wheel is a myth and urges employers to keep their staff safe on the road.
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.