Personal injury (PI)
British Insurance Awards 2011: Putting safety first
WINNER – INSURABLE RISK TEAM – TESCO STORES
Law report: Jurisdiction in ship accident decided by territorial waters location
This law report was contributed by national law firm Berrymans Lace Mawer.
Insurance & social media: To tweet or not to tweet
The insurance industry has struggled in its early attempts to adopt social media, due to its staid reputation. Sam Barrett warns that being slow to capitalise on the benefits it can bring means the industry is missing a trick.
Affinity: 'Sticky' challenge faced by affinity in bid to boost business
Insurers must "tap into partner loyalty" within affinity arrangements if they are to stay one step ahead of mounting outside pressures, according to Ageas' partnerships director Ian Wardle.
Law report: Accident highlights dangers of accepting H&S responsibility
This law report has been contributed by national law firm Berrymans Lace Mawer.
Referral fees a 'red herring' claims CSC
The Claims Standards Council has warned the insurance market that abolishing referral fees is a "red herring" that will only send motor insurance premiums "through the roof", due to the loss of their ancillary income stream.
Silverbeck Rymer prepares for "rapid growth" by appointing managing director
Bosses at Silverbeck Rymer have vowed to continue on the path of “rapid growth” after appointing the companies first ever managing director.
‘Dirty secret’ comes as no surprise to legal expenses group
The Legal Expenses Group has welcomed Jack Straw’s investigation into referral fees.
CMC numbers up 20%
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries has found the number of claims management companies assisting with injury claims in the UK has risen by 20% in 12 months.
Editor's comment: Referral fees witch hunt
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later: public outrage at referral fees and the "gobsmacking" practice of insurers making money from passing on details of claimants to personal injury solicitors. Few, however, would have put money on it emanating…
Axa ready for referrals ‘hurt’
Axa UK’s decision to stop accepting referral fees will “hurt” it in the short term and lose it several millions of pounds in income, but it is looking to the “longer-term prize” of getting bodily injury claims under control, according to personal lines…
Axa ready for referrals ‘hurt’ - Insurance News Now – 30 June 2011
Post news editor Mairi MacDonald outlines this week's major general insurance stories including the response of Axa personal lines boss Steve Hardy, on the insurer’s decision to stop accepting referral fess from personal injury lawyers.
ICO to investigate Jack Straw’s claims
A spokesman for the Information Commissioner’s office has confirmed that it is launching an investigation into claims from Mr Straw that motor insurers who sell clients' details to personal injury lawyers are breaking the law.
Motor insurers pay out £1.24 for every £1 premium earned
One in four UK third-party motor claims now involves a bodily injury element according to Towers Watson.
Endsleigh warns leisure trusts to check their policies
Endsleigh has warned leisure trusts could be liable should a customer injure themselves on a piece of faulty gym equipment.
Penny Black's insurance week
Penny had to check the date when she received word of a new insurance policy for players of the magical game of Quidditch — championed by Harry Potter and his Hogwarts classmates.
Legal update - Medical advances: The cost of breakthroughs
Medical breakthroughs give new hope to people who have been paralysed or had amputations as a result of accidents, but will these advances add to the already burgeoning costs of personal injury? Tim Brentnall warns that legal implications could prove…
Post history - 30 years ago: Industry gets high-tech seatbelt tests
Looking through Post's back catalogue paints a unique picture of more than 150 years of insurance news, as this highlight from 30 years ago reveals.
Insurers in line for a £4.8bn windfall from referral fees
Motor insurers stand to pocket billions in extra income a year if a recommendation to retain referral fees is acted on, a leading personal injury lawyer has claimed.
Rehabilitation - Workplace innovation: A good measure of rehabilitation success
Insurers have been vocal in their criticism of rehabilitation service innovation. Mark Howard and Brian Whelan argue that, while progress has been made, the next stage in evolution needs to be a radical one.
Editor's comment: Passing the hot potato
And so the buck gets passed once more. Another week, another non-decision on referral fees. This week it was the turn of the Legal Services Board to fight shy of a ban, deferring future responsibility for dealing with this questionable practice to…
'Therapy drift' leads Axa to outcome-based model
Axa Insurance is looking to counter its concerns over rehabilitation 'therapy drift' by working with a provider's new outcome-based pricing model, which effectively offers insurers a money-back guarantee on results.
Interview - David Bott: In the Apil hotseat
With claimant lawyers facing radical change over the next year following the Jackson Review, David Bott has a turbulent introduction to his tenancy as the new Apil president. Leigh Jackson talks to the man whose job it is to steady the ship through these…
Rehabilitation - Therapy drift: Avoiding the blame game
After the heavy criticism the case management sector received at the hands of insurers last year, Lynn Rouse looks at the way rehabilitation professionals have responded to the concerns.