Archive for the 'Claims regulation' Category

A warning has been issued by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) concerning 3 unregulated claims management companies who are involved in accident injury claims.  It is believed that the companies are trying to avoid being subject to regulation by being based outside the UK.

The warning came from the MoJ’s Claims Management Regulation Unit, and suggests that the following 3 companies may be providing accident claims management services without having the required authorisation:

• - National Compensation Consumer Line

• - Compensation Consumer Survey Line

• - Personal Injury Hotline

Published in Truckstop News - November 2008.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors answers the question “WHO PAYS THE LEGAL COSTS IN MAKING A PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM?”.

Legal costs can be a major concern when considering whether to make an accident compensation claim.  Contacting solicitors can appear daunting and potentially expensive.  However, most specialist accident lawyers are very approachable, and able to set people’s minds at rest about the claims process and costs implications.

Cowboy claims companies have been forced to clean up their act, says a report published yesterday.

The Ministry of Justice’s first annual report says better regulation has significantly reduced cold calling in person, which includes the practice of ‘clip boarding’ - knocking on doors and aggressively approaching people in shopping centres.  Unauthorised advertising and marketing in hospitals have also been almost entirely removed.

Bridget Prentice said:

“The regulation has put in place vital safeguards for consumers when using the services of claims management companies and is raising standards across the industry.”

“The new rules that claim managers must now follow have cleaned up the industry.  Consumers can have more confidence that they will be dealt with fairly when seeking to make a claim.”

A recent study indicates that unless their long term health is affected, people are reluctant to pursue legitimate claims for personal injury compensation for fear of being labelled “money grabbers”.

Of the people taking part in the survey, 81% felt that the country is in the grip of a US style claims culture, with 53% suggesting that claimants are purely financially motivated.  However, those same people said they would claim injury compensation following an accident if their future health and earning capacity was likely to be affected.  It seems that the more serious the consequences of an accident, the less reluctance there is to make a personal injury claim.

It also appears that those who have not been injured in an accident are more critical of people who pursue claims.  They may overlook that to a claimant earning the minimum wage even modest compensation of say £2,000 can dramatically improve their financial situation, whereas to someone with an annual salary of say £30,000 such a claim may not be worth the bother.

Darren Werth, the Chairman of the Claims Standards Council (CSC), has congratulated the Ministry of Justice for regulating the claims management industry.

Mr Werth indicated that the Government had done a good job with the regulation process when he said “The Government has successfully removed the cowboys from the industry; that is good news for the legal sector, insurance sector, the Government, but above all the claimant”.

However, the Insurance Fraud Bureau might argue that this is simply not the case.  They are currently investigating dozens of claims management companies, and also 10 firms of solicitors, in connection with allegations of insurance fraud within the claims industry, including claims that involve personal injury compensation.

Two recent Court decisions indicate the firm position being taken to deter fraud in claims for personal injury compensation.

A scam to claim £100,000 from Plymouth Council was foiled when the fraudster received a 3 year prison sentence.  Gordon Thomson decided to break the leg of his then girlfriend, Elizabeth Hingston, with the intention that she make a personal injury claim against the Council alleging that the injury was caused by a collapsed wall.

In an unrelated investigation it was discovered that solicitor, Thomas McGoldrick, having succeeded in winning substantial injury compensation on behalf of a disabled client, then stole £1.25 million of that compensation to pay debts accrued by his extravagant lifestyle.  He received a 10 year prison sentence.