Since 1st April 2013, the regulations governing the provision of any service relating to personal injury compensation have been tightened drastically. New rules and regulatory requirements forced claims management companies and solicitors to drastically change the way in which they worked.
The Jackson Reforms
The ‘Jackson Reforms’ bought about the LASPO Act 2012 to which all regulated claims management companies and specialist no win no fee solicitors must adhere. To summarise this act, referral fees were banned immediately and the process of claiming was changed for the claimant too. Claimants were no longer allowed to retain 100% of their compensation settlement if they won, as the fees that winning solicitors were allowed to charge to the losing side were heavily reduced. The new system forced solicitors to work for fixed fees (unless the value of the claim exceeded £10,000 in damages) and to sign their clients up to a revised Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) that obliges successful injury compensation claimants to contribute a maximum of 25% from their awarded compensation towards the costs of the claims process.
Why it Happened
The Government introduced these changes after fierce and successful lobbying by the insurance industry and were introduced with the government saying it was only fair that claimants should pay towards their legal fees. The claims industry stood against this move arguing that it was not fair that someone who was injured through no fault of their own, and left needing compensation, should lose a portion of their compensation as a result of claiming it. Sadly the argument was lost and the real winners were the insurance sector who now pay out far less as solicitors only receive fixed fees for their work and have to deduct up to 25% from the claimants compensation as well as the cost for any ATE insurance premium if applicable.
Ensuring Compliance
In the new post April 2013 claims world, you need to be sure that the claims provider you instruct to manage your claim is acting in a compliant way. You can ensure that this is the case in various ways. As before, all claims management companies must hold authorised regulatory status. Direct2Compensation is one such company, we’re regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, our authorisation number is 830395. Details can be found on the Financial Conduct Authority financial services register.
Another way of knowing if the company you have chosen to place your claim for compensation with is acting in accordance with the guidelines is by checking whether or not they are offering you an incentive to instruct them. Regulated personal injury claims companies or solicitors are not allowed to offer incentives. It is also not prohibited for any claims company or solicitor to receive a referral fee for your details.
Reporting illegal compensation activities
If you believe that the company that are managing your claim for injury compensation are acting outside of the regulations or without the legal authority to do so, there are ways in which you can report this to the relevant authorities. To find out more, read our article about reporting illegal claims activities.
Direct2Compensation offer a 100% compliant scheme. The expert solicitors that we work with specialise in personal injury compensation claims. Enquiries from our website are handed directly to solicitors to make contact with our clients and if they wish to pursue the claim, they can do so. They do not pay us a fee per claim and in no way provide any referral fee. They simply become members of our cooperative by paying a flat monthly fee to sit on our panel and ensure 100% compliance with the new regulations.
To find out more, please contact us and we’ll ensure that a specialist expert solicitor receives your enquiry and contacts you directly.
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