ABI launches new RTA code

The ABI has launched a new Code of Practice for road traffic accident personal injury claims.

According to the association, the code has been put together to ensure that both the letter and the spirit of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) reforms are embedded into everyday practice within the insurance industry.

It says that the code will help "strike the right balance between customers' legal rights and their ability to file a claim within a system that does not encourage speculative and exaggerated claims".

Under the code, insurers will ensure that policyholders wishing to claim are made aware of their options when considering appointing a legal services provider; not apply pressure on customers to claim; not share customers' personal information with another party knowing that it will be used to encourage the customer to claim; ask customers if they have legal expenses insurance, or other funding arrangements that may cover the cost of claiming; and aim to resolve claims wherever possible through the Claims Portal.

The code will also ensure that third parties insurers may arrange or recommend to handle a claim do not increase legal costs for the at-fault insurer.

Paul Evans, chairman of the ABI's general insurance council management committee, said that

insurers had campaigned over many years for much-needed reforms to the civil justice system, and that they were committed to paying fair compensation to genuinely injured claimants as quickly as possible.

"This code – which insurers initiated and drafted […] will help give customers the confidence that, in the new civil justice environment, the priority for insurers remains delivering the best outcomes for genuinely injured customers," he said.

The code can be viewed here.

Mark Dugdale