Whiplash Reform: a programme of measures to tackle the
high number and costs of whiplash claims
The Whiplash Reform Programme went live on 31 May 2021,
following a government review of whiplash claims that result from low-value
road traffic accidents.
The Whiplash reform programme changes how insurers handle
these types of claims. The aim of the reform is to reduce the costs to insurers
and curb opportunistic and fraudulent claims. The reform will also allow
unrepresented claimants to claim for injury through the Road Traffic Accident (RTA)
Small Claims Portal – Official Injury Claim Service (OICS).
Changes to personal injury claims
There is a fixed tariff that covers whiplash and minor
psychological injury up to a maximum recovery period of two years. There is no
minimum period.
The maximum award for personal injury under the previous
small claims limit was £1,000. This has increased to £5,000 with an overall
maximum limit of £10,000 to include non-injury elements of a claim (excluding
credit hire/repairs and insurer outlay).
For now, the reform only applies in England and Wales.
The accident investigation process
Insurers will only have 30 working days to investigate a
claim and decide whether to accept the claim entirely or partially or to reject
it. If their investigation extends
beyond the 30 days, then the claim will be deemed 'admitted'. In other words,
the insurer will admit liability.
If the insurer accepts the claim in full, then the driver
must complete and submit an accident report form to the insurer in the usual
way. If there is anything more, the driver must complete a Statement of Truth,
which includes full information of the incident and a description of the
driver. The form must be signed by the driver only.
If the driver leaves the client's employment or is an agency
driver, then it is the client’s responsibility to ensure that the Statement of
Truth is completed and signed. Without a signed form, a court will not allow
insurer evidence to challenge the claim.
At the outset of the claim, an insurer can upload a summary
of the claim without a signed Statement of Truth. However, the insurer will have to justify why
it has not been signed and returned. An electronic signature will be accepted,
and all liability decisions will be binding.
This new process does exclude any incident involving a
motorcyclist, pedestrian, or cyclist.
What you need to do to assist your insurer
·
Ensure that you enter all your hire vehicles on
MID.
·
If the hire period is less than 14 days, there
is no requirement. In this instance, a claim would be made against the hirer's
insurance and then redirected to your insurer. However, this may result in a delay
to the 30-day rule. So, keep detailed records of all vehicles under 14 days'
hire.
·
Early notification of an accident will help your
insurer launch their investigations ahead of any potential claim via the new
portal.
·
Take photos of all the vehicles at the scene,
recording damage as well as any undamaged areas following the accident.
·
If possible, take note of the number and
position of any adults or children in the front and rear of the vehicle
involved and whether they wore seatbelts.
·
Take down the details of any independent
witnesses at the scene.
·
Check for any CCTV cameras at the scene that may
have captured the incident.
·
Retain any dashcam footage and provide a copy to
your Morrison executive and to your insurer.
·
Consider any signs of suspicious behaviour and
report it to your Morrison executive and to your insurer.
·
Ensure that you complete the Statement of Truth
in a timely fashion.
·
Retain the telemetric data and ensure that this
is not overwritten.
·
The driver will need to be aware that they may
be required to attend court to defend the claim if the litigation proceeds.
·
The insurers only have 14 days to react to any
court summons. This summons will be in the name of the driver, so any
correspondence received must be forwarded to the insurer as soon as possible.
How Morrison Insurance Solutions can help
Our claims team is here to help you with any claims queries
in addition to your usual account executive.
In the event of a claim, we will have regular review
meetings with insurers to ensure that they adhere to the strict time limits on
the investigation.
The Official Injury Claim service has produced a video that illustrates the
identity verification process for claimants making a claim.
Please note that if any of your drivers need to make a claim
following a non-fault claim on the portal, this would be a private matter for
them and shouldn't involve you.