Antony Hodari has announced that it is to generate its own caseloads after officially cutting its ties with claims intermediaries and that it will have to make further widespread redundancies.
The firm, which says there is no longer be enough margin in fast-track personal injury work to include an intermediary in the process will now become self-sufficient and step up its efforts to reach out to the public. This will mean further use of the direct marketing capability the firm now has following its acquisition of Paul Rooney Partnership last year.
As of 1 April, Antony Hodari no longer accepts referrals from their panel of legal expense insurers who until now have been a major source of work. The firm's alternative model will now involve the use of a bespoke broker and insurer offering, which includes an innovative Legal Expense Insurance policy and fully outsourced claims function; it has also created a full accident management service for bodyshops.
“We are now ready to push the button on our new strategy, which will put us much more in control of our own destiny. We have put together attractive offers to both brokers and bodyshops, and the proof is in the high levels of interest they have already generated,” said Mark Grover, CEO of Antony Hodari.
The firm, which has been undergoing a modernisation programme over the past four years, has transformed itself into what it believes is the personal injury firm of the future: efficient, well run, and technology-enabled. It has seen staff numbers cut by a third over the past four years, while turnover has more than doubled, to £15m. More redundancies, said Grover, are on the way.
“The reality of the new environment means that claimant law firms need to be as streamlined as possible, and so we have reluctantly had to start a redundancy consultation process. We will do all we can to help and support affected members of staff. We have also thrown our weight behind the ‘Save the Legal Industry’ campaign, which seeks to highlight to government the ‘human toll’ of its reform programme, with thousands of jobs up and down the country under threat.”
Grover added that he wanted to bridge the divide that exists between law firms and the insurance industry.
“We believe that the customer is entitled to independent legal advice and representation; however, it is in everyone’s interest that costs are controlled. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that our broker and bodyshop models focus on streamlining the customer journey with immediate notification to the insurer,” he said.