Insurers to fund personal injury IT gateway
Exclusive: The government has accepted an offer in principle from the insurance industry to fund a new IT gateway to allow litigants in person access to the claims portal.
Post understands the system will be managed by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.
The decision has been criticised by claimant lawyers, with campaign group Access to Justice branding the move “a crazy decision”.
Access to Justice spokesman Andrew Twambley told Post: “The Ministry of Justice is apparently handing the defendent sector the opportunity, and the toolkit, to decide how the law is administered. Talk about putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
“Insurers have already persuaded the government to let them be the judge and jury for personal injury compensation, but with this decision, ministers are giving the Association of British Insurers and its members a chance to be the executioner too.”
The news follows sources last week telling Post that the government’s controversial whiplash reforms will be implemented in April next year.
Association of Personal Injury Lawyers’ president Brett Dixon said: “That the reforms will go ahead at all is, of course, unwelcome news to injured people, but Apil will use its seat at the table to help to safeguard access to justice for injured people as far as possible.
“There is still a lot of work to do in the next 14 months.”
The ABI confirmed to Post that government had accepted the in principle offer and that the platform will be managed via the MIB, but declined to comment further
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