Resolver – An Introduction

3 minute read

Our Director of Claims Strategy, Simon Smith, spoke with Modern Insurance Magazine about our own dispute resolution process, Resolver:


Whilst many businesses are now claiming to have provided access to new and emerging mediation techniques and technologies, Carpenters Group launched its own dispute resolution process, branded as “Resolver” in late 2017, with the intention of creating a partner collaboration, which bought about open communication between leading UK insurers and ourselves. What was critical to the business was the ability to create a product, which worked for insurers regardless of their relationship with Carpenters.  Quite simply, friend or foe, we wanted to reduce the delay and excess cost inherent in the court process.  As cases reached the point where a Stage 3 hearing was required, we needed to provide a more efficient, cost effective solution.

Through macro-analytics, which cover in excess of 600,000 claims settled we could track the overall impact on cases currently waiting for Stage 2 outcomes, allowing early mediation between Carpenters and its potential Resolver partners.

Supported by Exchange Chambers, we set about designing a managed process that mirrored the court process, with the aim of reducing the overall claims life cycle on Stage 3 claims.  The “Resolver” proposition has alleviated pressures placed on the court system, meaning that we no longer have to wait 9 or 12 months for a Stage 3 hearing date.

Under Resolver, an independent barrister - equivalent to a District Judge - is instructed to resolve the case within 14 days, and at a fee below the Stage 3 issue fee.  The process also provides greater reliability and consistency of outcome, by ensuring that a subject matter expert decides every case, and has the time to give proper consideration to the issues - a luxury not always available in the Court Service.  Each assessor is a senior injury barrister, at district judge equivalent level, with a mixed claimant and defendant portfolio in private practice.

Through our Resolver proposition, we are now processing more than 500 case reviews each month, via Teams or Zoom, all of which is supported by our dedicated Resolver Lead, Rob Pascual.

Feedback received from our Resolver partners confirms that claims reserves can be released much earlier with greater accuracy, in turn this has helped reduce life-cycles means significantly fewer touch points and a lower claims handling expense for “Resolver” cases.

The financial savings and staffing impact speak for themselves:

• 700 working hours returned per annum to Insurers following the implementation of our new process.
• The Assessor’s fee is now on average £160 per case, meaning a saving of £148 per case is achieved on the new scale of Stage 3 issue fees.
• Carpenters have agreed a reduction in Type B costs from £300 to £175 inclusive of VAT.
• The insurer can achieve further savings in terms of defence legal costs.

The value of the Resolver solution, demonstrated over time, was recognised by one insurer partner in March 2020 when it won the annual LV “Value Creation Award”.

Martin Milliner, Claims Director at LV had this to say about the product:
“LV have worked with Carpenters since 2018 on a mediation solution known as Resolver, predominantly in relation to MoJ Portal personal injury claims.  This solution provides an alternative dispute resolution process for MOJ Stage 2 cases, once all other dialogue between us has been exhausted. By using Resolver, the Claimant and insurer avoid the need for claims to go down the potentially lengthy Stage 3 legal process, meaning faster resolution of claims for all customers, reduced legal fees/disbursements, and more consistent compensation awards.

Resolver is a good example of collaboration by a law firm, for the good of their clients whilst at the same time simplifying process and reducing frictional cost, something that will be even more important post May 2021.”

Our plans for 2021 include the extension of our current Resolver Model to offer dispute resolution of contentious credit hire claims.

For more information on Resolver, please contact Simon Smith - SSMI@carpentersgroup.co.uk  or Alan Hayes - ah@carpentersgroup.co.uk.


Simon Smith
Director of Claims Strategy, Carpenters Group


Credit: Modern Insurance Magazine