News

8 April 2009

Insurers taken to task as claims industry makes its voice heard

Insurers have become too eager to criticise the ABI's General Terms of Agreement, while leaving it to a few of their industry peers to carry the can, Accident Exchange's Chief Executive Steve Evans told the recent Claims Management Conference.

Evans, who represents the Accident Management Association on the ABI's technical committee, said, "The GTA provides a perfectly sound mechanism for regulating the management of RTA claims, but the behaviour of insurers is responsible for the increasing surge in litigation of road traffic claims – and that increase is harming everybody in the insurance supply chain and impacts negatively on the reputation of the industry as a whole."

The Conference took place last Wednesday (April 1) at The Royal Society of Medicine, One Wimpole Street, London and attracted professionals from across all areas of the personal injury claims sector; from claims handlers to insurance lawyers, all of whom were keen to get their voices heard.

The keynote speech was provided by Kevin Rousell, Head of Claims Management Regulation at the Ministry of Justice, and focused on the advertising regulations recently announced by the MoJ; restricting the ways in which claims management companies can advertise their services. Rousell's views echoed the recent feature in Claims Management magazine which argued that claims management companies need to be alert to these regulations and focus on providing fast and fair access to justice.

Emma Waddingham, Editor of Claims Management Magazine and chair of the Conference, said, "There's little time for talks. Not only is the claims sector operating in a weak economic environment, it also has to deal with perpetual bad press, cynicism and changing business models.

"But as Kevin and Steve have highlighted, the changes have also opened new avenues of business practice for those willing to work together to help benefit claimants and businesses alike. PPI claims look set to dominate the headlines in 2009 and beyond, while events such as this, which allow both sides of the claims process to meet and get their voices heard, can only be a positive step in the bid to develop a more streamlined, transparent and fairer claims process."

Other speakers included Janet Tilley of Coleman–Ctts on 'Working Party for Reform'; Charles Curtis of 1 Temple Gardens on 'Fighting Fraud in Motor Accident Claims'; Dr Miriam Wohl on 'Treating Whiplash – The Alexander Technique', Stephen Roberts of Brit Insurance on 'The Perfect Claims Management Company (from an insurer's perspective)'; Rosie Corless of QBE on 'What Makes for Great Rehab?' and Patrick Walker on 'Alternative Dispute Resolution – How the CM industry can make ADR work'. The conference closed with an interactive session exploring the day's key topics.

The headline sponsor was Alexander Samuel LLP, with other sponsors including Doctors Chambers, Elite Insurance, The Injury Care Clinics Ltd, Eclipse Proclaim Case Management Software, Insurance Services Office, Medicals Direct Group, Pace Rehabilitation, Quickdox, MSL Legal Expenses Insurance, 80e, UKS Medical Diagnostics, Moving Minds, Intelligent Claims Management, IPRS and Dorset Orthopaedic.

Debates arising from the conference will be covered in the next issue of Claims Management magazine, available from 5 May.

For more information, visit http://www.claimsmagazine.co.uk/conference2009/index.html

For further media information, please contact Jane Burgess on 01423 851150 or email jane.burgess@barkerbrooks.co.uk

Note to Editors:
Claims Management magazine is a leading publication for the whole personal injury claims industry. A bimonthly publication, it contains news and features on the hot topics facing the sector.

For more information on the publication, please email or call the editor Emma Waddingham: emma.waddingham@barkerbrooks.co.uk, 01423 851150

For subscriptions, email jonathan@barkerbrooks.co.uk