The race for quick settlement is on following whiplash claims reform
Updated: Mar 30, 2021
UPDATE MARCH 2021: UK whiplash reforms are back on after roll-out was postponed last year, promising a perfect storm for insurers, CMCs and credit hire firms dealing with small claims. With tariffs capped and unrepresented parties able to submit claims through the new portal from 31 May 2021, the industry now faces the mighty challenge of making the new system work for everybody and protect margins.
Having reviewed the user journey on the new portal and following feedback from a range of customers across the small claims supply chain, we’ve identified two immediate areas where eviid technology can help:
For representatives of claimants, submitting claims through the portal: gather all supporting documentation from the claimant instantly, including dashcam footage and video quickly and easily before uploading to the portal. Integrate handling of video and photo seamlessly into your workflow to keep costs down.
For compensating parties: check/verify the claimant’s version of events against video and photographic evidence quickly gathered from your policyholder and third parties. Bat away fraudsters and weak cases instantly.
This tech can be deployed superfast on transactional pricing models (cost per claim), is cloud based and made for insurance:
eviid Upload is perfect for retrieving dashcam and any other footage from policyholders/third parties/customers without hassle, via a simple link
eviid Portal provides secure access to your automatically filed footage/photos, stored in the cloud and equipped with secure, audited and compliant sharing facilities
eviid Assist help your customers take and submit verifiable videos and photos or give evidence via live and recorded video call
eviid Click enables app-less, seamless live calling via SMS link
Below blog, written last year ahead of the earlier deadline, gives an overview of the implications of the reforms and the role video and photo evidence can play in making it all work...
From April 2020, as part of the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) whiplash claims reform programme, claims of up to £5,000 will be dealt with via a separate small claims portal. As part of this change legal costs will no longer be recoverable as part of the insurance pay-out.
What does this mean?
One of the key outcomes of this is that claimants will be much more likely to litigate for themselves rather than via costly legal professionals. Another is a likely race for interested parties to get to the claim quickly – and in particular the no-fault party – and settle swiftly.
Those acting in claims where their own policy-holders are at fault will aim to bring the no-fault party into their own supply chain to minimise costs. For other operators, such as credit hire businesses, there is an opportunity to get in there first, and offer a swift, hassle-free and one-stop-shop process.
Wherever the claim ends up, though, in order to ensure the best outcome for all parties involved, the ability to triage effectively, determine liability reliably and settle quickly is paramount. This will keep claims cost down and ensure a fast resolution.
The risks of not acting
The increase in self-litigation that whiplash claims reform will bring means that it will be even more important for claims teams, wherever they sit in the supply chain, to be confident in the validity of claims evidence. Particularly when it comes to identifying potential fraudulent claims.
Without the formal court system in place, potential fraudsters may see the small claims portal as a low risk operation. Claims teams must be confident that the decisions they are making are based on genuine reliable evidence. The challenge: making due diligence on the evidence compatible with the speed of decision-making required.
Fast reactions
Those organisations – whether they are insurers directly, claims management specialists, legal professionals or credit hire providers – who can act quickly to pick up a claim and retrieve and act on reliable and verifiable evidence in order to facilitate confident and fast decision-making will of course gain significant competitive advantage over those with more traditional, slow moving claims processes in place.
Making use of technology that can mean the claim is processed and resolved faster for the claimant has the potential to set businesses apart in what will be a highly competitive environment.
eviid technology has the potential to transform claims and meet this agile, responsive demand – regardless of where you sit in the claims ecosystem. The technology makes secure, verified video transfer fast and easy-to-use for both claims teams and claimants, and can enable teams to react quickly to resolve claims. This is particularly valuable in the case of smaller RTAs where dashcam footage and CCTV is often readily available, but typically hard to acquire without significant effort from claimants and third parties.
The eviid solution
eviid’s transformative evidential video reporting tool allows claims professionals and individuals to capture, validate, share and access video and other media quickly and easily; enabling users to share information, direct from their location, in a single, tamper-proof package. The patented, proven technology turns video and photos captured on smart devices such as mobile phones, dash-cams and security cameras into reliable, verifiable evidence that is suitable for use via in small claims process via the Motor Insurance Bureau’s (MIB) new small claims portal. By reducing the time is takes for organisations to access evidential video, claims can be processed more quickly, giving organisations a competitive advantage in the race to bring whiplash and other small claimants into their supply chain.
