Despite a tentative start by solicitors and insurers, the new Ministry of Justice (MoJ) personal injury claims process is proving effective for everyone involved, reports Zurich.
The MoJ online portal, allows solicitors to input personal injury details following road traffic accidents.The new process is much quicker therefore reducing the cost of claims. The online portal was set up by the MoJ to support fixed timescales introduced in April 2010. This new streamlined claims process is for road traffic accident personal injury claims between £1,000 and £10,000. To find out more go to: www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease080310a.htm
Early days
In the early days of the new process, Zurich helped a number of customers who experienced teething issues. By the end of July 2010, Zurich had received over 4,000 personal injury motor claims through the new portal. Of these, only around 200 were rejected because they were incorrectly completed or exceeded the upper value limit of £10,000.
“After a slow start, volumes of personal injury motor claims are now reaching the levels predicted.,” reports Karl Helgesen, Motor Claims Director, Zurich. “Until more data is available we can’t say for sure whether or not claims are being settled more quickly than before, but it should mean claims cost less to settle than they used to.
It has been brought to our attention that some claimant solicitors have been continuing to use the old system of faxing claims. Our understanding from the MoJ is that this is no longer acceptable. We are closely monitoring this and dealing with any issues that arise. Zurich is supporting customers using the portal for all personal injury motor claims that qualify,” says Karl Helgesen.
For more information contact your Zurich Municipal risk and insurance manager or send enquiries to: info@zurichmunicipal.com
Rob Allison, Managing Director, Zurich Municipal: “The MoJ reforms on road traffic accidents should be viewed as an opportunity for customers and insurers to work more closely to save time and cost handling personal injury claims.This, in turn, can have a positive impact on annual premiums."
“The impetus is on customers to act promptly following an incident to ensure the claim reaches settlement within the predetermined timeframe,” advises Karl Helgesen, Motor Claims Director, Zurich.
The Ministry of Justice introduced a three-stage process for road traffic accident personal injury claims (between £1,000 and £10,000) from 30 April 2010:
Stage 1
- Collect the information needed to complete the claim notification form and send this to the defendants insurer
15 days for insurer to respond
- If liability is accepted then the claim continues to Stage 2
- If liability is denied (or contributory negligence is alleged) then the claim falls out of the process
Stage 2
- The Claimant’s representative gathers supporting evidence for the claim and completes a settlement pack with an offer for damages
15 days for insurer to accept or reject the offer and make, where relevant, a counter offer
20 days for further negotiations allowed
- If no agreement is reached, the claimants’ representative prepares documentation for Stage 3
Stage 3
5 days
- From the date the claimants’ representative sent the Stage 2 litigation pack, the insurer has five days to check the documents and respond to any issues.
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