Ministry of Justice Reforms EL & PL Injury Claims Process and Costs

Reforms
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and other costs reforms effective 1st April 13

Impact
ATE premiums and success fees no longer recoverable. Referral fee ban. 10% uplift on general damages. Qualified one way costs shifting defendant cannot recover costs from genuine claimant Speed up claims settlement and reduce costs burden of litigation for defendants Prompt claim notification to QBE and avoids inappropriate communication. If a policyholder receives a claim direct they must notify QBE immediately New Regime electronic acknowledgement of Claims Notification Form next working day and only 30 working days to admit liability on EL claims (40 for PL) otherwise claim drops out of portal Failure to admit liability in full or to meet tight deadlines will cause claim to drop out of portal and lose costs benefits Predictive costs up to 6 times more expensive if case drops out of portal and goes to a Hearing. The new base costs for an EL claim worth 25,000 would increase from 2,100 max to 13,430 if settled at a Hearing

New Ministry of Justice scheme for EL and PL injury claims in England & Wales for claims 1,000 to 25,000 possibly effective July 2013 but to be confirmed Claims notification and correspondence through an online electronic portal from claimants solicitors to Insurer directly. There remains a risk of direct notification to a policyholder Tighter timescales for acknowledging claim notification and communicating liability decision. Existing 21 days to acknowledge Letter of Claim and 90 working days to communicate on liability Admissions must be in full with no contributory negligence or fraud alleged Lower fixed costs for claims that remain in the portal. Higher predictive costs regime for claims that drop out of the portal

Ministry of Justice Reforms UK Casualty Requirements

What QBE have done
We are working towards the new timescales to ensure our processes are fully embedded in time to maximise the opportunities presented by the reforms We have realigned our processes in anticipation of the reforms to ensure we are proactive and efficient Our panel loss adjusters are also working to the new timescales now Ensuring a disciplined approach to liability decision making in accordance with our philosophies Regular monitoring and review of performance to ensure high levels of customer service and quality standards are maintained We are reviewing and piloting new technology which will enable us to become even more efficient in dealing with your claims Keeping you updated on the reforms. Please visit
http://www.qbeeurope.com/risk-management/technicalclaims.asp

Whats required of Policyholders

Promptly notify us of claims and provide us with as much relevant information and evidence as quickly as possible When notifying us of a claim please provide points of contact and details for investigation purposes Ensure all accidents and injuries are recorded promptly and investigated thoroughly Early capture and retention of evidence and documentation for quick access and notification should a claim be made Respond promptly to our requests for information and/or to arrange site investigations Ensure all documentation is entirely factual without conjecture when dealing with investigation and gathering evidence Trust us our claims adjusters and inspectors are experts in liability and will deal with the claim professionally and expediently

for further updates