The Low Value (£1,000-£10,000) road traffic accident injury claims process was reformed last year. The new system was agreed by Claimant (injured people) and Defendant (People at fault) representatives with the Ministry of Justice.
A secure electronic portal was set up for the transfer between Claimant Lawyers and Defendant Insurers of the necessary information to swiftly process personal injury claims after road traffic accidents.
The electronic system manages correspondence between the parties throughout the stages of the claims process. The system validates the data to make sure that it’s fully completed and it monitors the agreed time limits and provides reminders to avoid time limits being exceeded.
You can be assured that the information you provide your injury lawyer will remain confidential. Access to the system is restricted to registered users only. The system is controlled by individual logon id/password combinations. Users can only access the claims that they “own”, either as the Claimant Representative or Defendant Insurer.
Accident Claim Procedures under the new system
The Claimant’s lawyer completes electronic forms online and submits them for transfer to the Defendant Insurer. The forms are fully validated by the system to the agreed requirements before transmission, requesting user correction if necessary.
The Defendant Insurer must provide a response within 15 days. This period is shorter than the 21 days under the old personal injury procedures.
If the Defendant Insurer accepts liability (fault), the claim proceeds to the second stage. At stage two, the claimant’s solicitor obtains a medical report and puts together a settlement pack which is then sent to the Defendant Insurer to settle the claim or request an interim payment (advance payment of some of the compensation) where appropriate.
If the Defendant Insurer rejects the Claimant’s offer, they must make their own offer in reply which will then be paid as an interim payment should the Claimant reject the offer.
The whole process is simplified and provides opportunities to the parties to settle claims a lot quicker than before.
Where parties are not able to reach an agreement on compensation at the second stage, the Claim moves to the third stage. At this last stage, The Claimant’s solicitor makes an application to the court to assess the amount of compensation the Claimant should receive. This can be done either on paper without either party attending court or at a hearing before a judge.
Overall, the new system is working well as the majority of road traffic accident Claimants are now receiving their compensation faster than before.