Association of British Insurance News

Last month the Association of British Insurers announced new proposals to deal with personal injury claims.

The new proposals focused on a compensation system which was both fast and fair and which would aim to reduce the time and expense of litigation. The new proposals fall in line with the governments Compensation Bill published last November. This bill introduced the idea of a fairer system of compensation as well as the regulation of claims management companies. The proposals also fall in line with the increased focus on rehabilitation of the injured party from the outset (in accordance with the latest update of the Civil Procedural Rules) which asks the parties to agree to rehabilitation in the Letter before Action.

The system proposed by the ABI has a strong focus on rehabilitation, it is estimated that billions of pounds are lost by employers in the UK each year due to absence from injury approximately 7 million days are lost each year. Clearly some of this loss could be reduced with effective rehabilitation of the injured.

 The Association of British Insurer’s has therefore included in its proposals:

• Tax incentives for employers who provide rehabilitative care
• Promoting the idea of rehabilitation through the NHS and Health & Safety Executive
• A new code of Best Practice designed to improve response to accidents and ill health in the workplace

 

They also promote the idea of a less adversarial system of claims and back the idea of a simpler system for those claims worth less than £25,000 which will include a simple claim form which can be used by claimants without the need for legal advice.

Whilst it seems that the Government’s proposals in the Compensation Bill did not go far enough to protect the claimant and indeed insurance companies the ABI’s proposals take a pro-active approach to dealing with the concerns surrounding personal injury claims. Claims management companies have created the perception that any claim is worth pursuing and in many cases this is true. By adopting an approach to claims which promotes a fairer system for claimants and tackles claims from the outset the insurance industry can improve on the publics perception of the industry and generate a more efficient fairer system for all.

www.abi.org.uk