Which of the primary challenges in your sector would you like to see prioritised over the next 12 months, and why?

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Which of the primary challenges in your sector would you like to see prioritised over the next 12 months, and why? 

The introduction of the OIC Portal in May 2021 has brought seismic change to personal injury claims and whilst not always in the way intended, certainly in how the industry anticipated, for examples lifecycles are up and backlogs of claims are building.

For the year ahead, the market needs certainty on valuation of mixed injury claims and cross industry engagement to drive process improvements with increased transparency that reduce bottlenecks and track performance.

Mixed Injury Claims and CoA

The MoJ acknowledged before implementation of the OICP that judicial guidance would be required for when a Claimant suffered injuries in addition to tariff-based awards. It has taken 18 months for two cases to be presented at the CoA; Robot v Hassam & Briggs v Laditan and we await the Judgments with interest.

Will these claims bring certainty? One would hope so in terms of tariff and non-tariff claims.

However, the CoA are not being asked to give guidance on other issues such as what is classed as exceptional circumstances or if a defendant can be allowed to raise new evidence at an assessment hearing if they choose not to exit the claim pre issues, so do expect further litigation on these points and more next year.

Process Improvement and transparency

We know the OICP wasn’t in a fit state at go live, especially for Pro Users whom represent in excess of 90% of Claimants. Consequently, the MIB have been focused on making technical improvements to the Portal within 29 releases, many of which are identified by via Pro Users.

Whilst the volume of technical fixes required are diminishing, it is a serious concern that releases are moving to bi-annual with the next scheduled for May 2023.

To date the MoJ have been reluctant to implement a change control board but the time has come where Claimant Pro Users and Compensators have sufficient experience of the Portal to collectively feedback to the MoJ prioritized recommendations for improvements that benefit the Claimant experience.

Furthermore, whilst the MIB do publish data each quarter, there are still gaps, such as how many of the 9% of recorded LiP’s are in fact being helped by an insurer via Third Party Capture and what are the average special damages claimed and paid?  

Now is a sensible time to pivot focus towards such priorities, which will likely require MoJ intervention and possible rule changes.

Stuart Hancock
Head of Business Implementation, Carpenters Group

Credit : Modern Insurance Magazine