Adding Insult to Injury – it’s war!

In advance of the publication of the Government’s proposals on reform of the claims process, which may increase the fast-track limit to £25,000, extend the system of fixed fees and require cases to be investigated by insurers, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has gone on the offensive. In its report Adding Insult to Injury, the association argues that insurers should be able to investigate claims first, so that where they admit liability they can move immediately to negotiating settlement ( see ‘Third party capture’ LL/27 p37) and criticises claimant lawyers for paying referral fees of between £600 and £900 to claims management companies. In the Solicitors Journal of 1 April, Steven Haddrill, the director general of the ABI, was quoted as saying: ‘Personal injury claims following a motor accident take on average two years to settle, with three years on average for workplace claims. This is unacceptable. We look forward to the implementation of the government’s proposals without further delay.’ The report produced an avalanche of response from the profession. David Marshall of Anthony Gold referred to the report as a cheap attack on lawyers. He said: ‘The ABI’s own study showed that the costs of lawyers have remained constant for the past 10 years, so they cannot be said to be spiralling as alleged in the report. These sort of comments are unhelpful. The ABI is trying to influence the debate instead of coming up with a solution.’