You may not have heard of it but the Ministry of Justice is implementing changes to the way Employers and Public Liability claims are being reported within England and Wales.
The aim of the reforms is to bring more balance to the civil litigation system by making lawyer’s costs proportionate and combating the compensation culture.
Typically, the reforms are shrouded in impenetrable legal jargon but here at ProAktive we aim to free you to do what you do best so here are the things you need to know that will affect your business:
1) The deadlines for reporting claims are to be drastically reduced from 90 days to 30 days for Employers Liability claims and 40 days for Public Liability claims. Failure to report claims within the prescribed time frames can result in additional costs which may not be passed directly onto you but will contribute to the cost of your claim. Insurers require that they are advised the same day you receive notification of a potential claim and any further supporting documentation should be sent to them within 5 days.
2) Conditional Fee Arrangements (CFA) and ‘After the Event’ insurance cover can still be arranged by the claimant but the reforms now ban the recovery of these costs from defendants.
3) Defendants will always have to pay their own costs in the future, even on successfully defended cases. Of course your insurance policy will provide cover for these costs.
4) A general 10% uplift for all awards for pain and suffering will apply to all cases after 1st of August 2013.
5) Referral fees are now banned in respect of civil claims which should hopefully reduce the number of claims.
The ProAktive solution: Please advise us of any incidents which may give rise to a claim as soon as possible to ensure we meet onerous policy conditions and advise Insurers accordingly.
If you are in doubt as to whether an incident should be notified please contact us.
By Laura Carter