Whiplash
Mass renews call for early review into OIC tariff
The Motor Accident Solicitors Society has renewed its call for an early review of the tariff of damages for low-value road traffic accidents, as recommended by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.
Interview: John O’Roarke and Ronan McCann, HF (formerly Horwich Farrelly)
Having overseen a name change from Horwich Farrelly, CEO Ronan McCann and chairman John O’Roarke explain how the rebranded HF is shaping up for a future of diversification, M&A and staff ownership as it looks to become the Admiral of the legal sector.
Portal still needs bedding in, say MIB and Medco bosses as 115,000 claims await medical reports
With no apparent reason for delays in obtaining medical reports, Dominic Clayden, CEO of Motor Insurers’ Bureau and Martin Heskins, executive chair of Medco, suspect the portal needs more time to bed in.
Concerns grow for unrepresented claimants as trends appear in OIC figures
The fourth set of figures from the Official Injury Claims portal shows that the number of unrepresented claimants still make less than 10% of those using the portal, with the claimant sector concerned about ability of accident victims to get support they…
Mixed injuries working group aims to take a range of test cases to Court of Appeal ‘as quickly as possible’
As first instance judgments are starting to come through, Martin Saunders, Official Injury Claim’s portal head of service says the mixed injuries working group aims to take a range of test cases to Court of Appeal “as quickly as possible”.
Blame laid at the OIC portal for unexpected fall in PI motor claims since pandemic
Personal injury motor claims decreased despite more traffic since the pandemic, according to CRU figures, with blame being directed towards the government portal
Arbitration could shorten the whiplash portal’s 175 day wait for settlements to ‘three to 10 days’
An arbitration service has claimed OIC delays could be shortened from six months to “three to 10 days” if parties are no longer allowed to play games.
Blog: Housing disrepair paves the way to a perfect storm – are insurers ready?
With the recent whiplash reforms squeezing profit margins, Jared Mallinson, partner and head of counter fraud at Horwich Farrelly, considers whether the insurance industry is facing a new claims epidemic, with the social housing industry reporting a rise…
EY predicts motor NCR of 113.8% in 2022; Geo buys Lorega; Konsileo secures Series A funding; and ex-Fresh trio launch new broker
For the record: Post wraps up the major insurance deals, launches, investments and strategic moves of the week.
FCA move to ban ‘phoenixing’ a step in the right direction but more could be done to stop dishonest CMCs
Financial Conduct Authority plans to impose significant changes on claims management companies that would prevent ‘phoenixing’ are a step in the right direction but the industry has called for more action to stop dishonest CMCs.
Analysis: What is driving the increase in credit hire fraud
With Aviva reporting a 10.7% increase in motor injury claims fraud, Post investigates what is driving the increase in credit hire fraud.
ACSO calls for official review of OIC as Sir Christopher Bellamy steps into MOJ role
A claimant support organisation has urged Sir Christopher Bellamy to review fixed recoverable costs for civil cases as he replaces Lord Wolfson of Tredegar as parliamentary under secretary of state.
Aviva joins Sign Live; Clear Group acquires Centor; Canopius reorganises underwriting team; LV steps up digital innovation with tie-up; and Questgates buys again
For the record: Post wraps up the major insurance deals, launches, investments and strategic moves of the week.
Analysis: One year on, is the whiplash portal working or heading for a crash?
With the Official Injury Claim portal celebrating its first birthday on 31 May, Post investigates how it has fared over the past 12 months.
Aviva reports 13% spike in fraud; Accredited hails £2bn Policy Expert deal; Urban Jungle to recruit 100; and PRA warns insurers of ‘significant headwinds’ over climate change
For the record: Post wraps up the major insurance deals, launches, investments and strategic moves of the week.
OIC portal figures don't show true picture of reforms as driver behaviour has changed with Covid
As driver behaviour changed following the Covid pandemic, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions on the impact the whiplash reforms have had on the number of claims coming through the new system, a conference has heard.
MoJ defends the low proportion of unrepresented claimants using OIC portal
Speaking at the Association of British Insurers’ whiplash event, David Parkin, deputy director for civil justice and law policy at the Ministry of Justice, addressed the criticism that Official Injury Claims portal is not meeting its objectives as less…
Motor insurance fraud roundtable: Data and diligence, how can insurers combat any increase in criminal activity?
Insurance Post, in association with LexisNexis Risk Solutions, recently gathered experts together to discuss how issues such as ghost broking, the current limitations of benchmarking and fraud detection are pertinent to rooting out motor insurance fraud.
Low motor accident claim levels raise concerns that 'injured people are not claiming'
A claimant organisation has raised concerns that the number of registered motor claims in the first quarter of 2022 remained at a pandemic level, despite road traffic mostly returning to normal.
Fears OIC portal is not meeting objectives as unrepresented claimants make up less than 10% of users
Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show that unrepresented claimants still make up less than 10% of those using the Official Injury Claim portal, as concerns grow that portal is not meeting objectives of being “consumer friendly”.
‘A sigh of relief’ for the industry as MoJ plans no further action on credit hire and rehabilitation
Self regulation has been heralded as the Ministry of Justice confirmed it will take no further action on credit hire and rehabilitation after publishing its response to part two of the whiplash reforms.
MoJ publishes simplified claims portal user guide after previous guidance branded ‘off-putting’
The Ministry of Justice has published a five-step guide to using the Official Injury Claim portal after the previous 64-page long guidance was branded as “off-putting” and “complex” by critics.
Adapting alternative dispute resolution could save insurers £30m in 2022
The case for adapting alternative dispute resolution urgently needs to be revisited according to Stewart McCulloch, managing director at Claimspace, who believes this could save the industry 'tens of millions' in court cost as well as release the…
General Insurance Fraud Committee hopeful on spam advert legislation
The General Insurance Fraud Committee is hopeful that online advertising will be included in the Online Safety Bill, Clare Lunn, director of financial crime at LV GI and chair of the GIFC told Post.