Minster Law has announced a significant turnaround, achieving a pre-tax profit of £503,000 in 2023/24, compared to a £4.7 million loss the previous year. The transformation follows a three-year strategic overhaul aimed at repositioning the firm as a modern personal injury (PI) law provider, CEO Shirley Woolham (pictured) revealed in a statement.
The firm’s revenue grew by 15% to £36.7 million, despite ongoing challenges from reforms in the personal injury market that have significantly reduced income per case. Minster Law’s new strategy focuses on meeting the evolving needs of insurer partners under Consumer Duty regulations, a news release highlighted.
Woolham described the transformation as a fundamental shift in the firm’s approach to legal services.
“We realised early that to focus only on the pursuit of volume was not a strategy capable of creating a sustainable business model post reforms. Instead, we had to think like a startup, challenge everything and find new ways to achieve sustainable growth and more aligned partnerships,” Woolham said.
She noted the transformation included restructuring internal processes, introducing new technologies, and focusing on sustainable growth rather than volume-driven operations. Woolham emphasised the success of this strategy, noting a £5 million turnaround in profits and an EBITDA of £2.5 million for 2023/24.
Minster Law has also invested in innovative technologies, including a low-code/no-code customer onboarding platform and a proprietary claims portal, INK. These tools aim to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and integrate more effectively with insurer systems.
The firm’s advanced analytics capabilities provide insights into insurer behaviours within the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal, which processes whiplash and minor injury claims. This analysis informs tailored approaches to claim progression and offers benchmarking data to insurer partners, identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement.
“We know, for example, that the average time taken to provide an initial liability decision has increased by three days over the past 12 months, but that this increase is largely driven by the behaviour of just three of the top 20 motor insurers. We know from which insurers we are more likely to see causation being raised at liability stage and we can see those insurers who are being more proactive in their liability and valuation approaches,” Woolham explained.
Minster Law has also expanded its serious injury division, with a 50% increase in case volume over the past two years. The division now includes 188 specialists among the firm’s 508 staff.
The news release noted the firm collaborates with insurers to manage indemnity exposure, streamline high-value claims, and reduce costs through initiatives like pre-issue mediation and escalation protocols.
Woolham described the journey to profitability as “immensely challenging” but noted Minster Law is prepared to shape the future of the supply chain amid the government’s motor task force inquiry.
“Supply chain partners must have something to offer beyond a ‘claims factory’ approach to managing claims, so we’ve going at this head on, helping our insurer partners to meet their regulatory obligations and setting a new standard in outcome-focused legal services,” she stated.
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