A CYNICAL PLOY?



The champion of consumer rights, the Association of British Insurers (ABI), is at it again. It now claims to have produced conclusive evidence that unrepresented claimants are safe in its members' hands. Any suggestion of cynicism on its part is refuted (see 2006 Gazette, 13 July, 1).



The implication is, presumably, that unscrupulous claimant solicitors are cynically delaying settlement of their clients' claims to maximise their own costs.



My experience of the workings of the insurance industry is somewhat different, particularly in relatively low-value cases, where I have to wait in excess of 12 months for any liability decision.



Most offers of compensation will then be derisory, but they are non-negotiable because an expensive computer has determined the figures in question. This makes court proceedings inevitable, thereby further delaying settlement.



Could it be that insurers have now been told to make higher offers to unrepresented claimants, and to fast-track settlement of their claims?



Nick Story, OH Parsons & Partners, London