The Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) has called for a government review to assess the impact of recent personal injury legal reforms.
ACSO, which represents consumers in the civil justice system, is seeking an evaluation of whether these changes have achieved their intended outcomes.
The call comes as the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal, which handles minor injury claims valued at less than £5,000, nears its fourth anniversary. More than one million claims have been submitted through the portal, with approximately 300,000 processed.
ACSO executive director Matthew Maxwell Scott stated that a comprehensive review would align with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) upcoming study on whether insurers have fulfilled their commitment to return £35 per premium per year to motorists.
“Motor insurers agreed to compensate consumers in return for them losing some of their rights of redress following an accident, and the FCA has until the end of March to determine whether that has happened, and to what extent,” he said. “Given the cost of motor insurance is still near historic highs, we are sceptical, to say the least, that insurers have met their promises, but no doubt they will have some excuses ready.”
Scott suggested that this was an appropriate time for new ministers to assess the impact of the previous government’s personal injury reforms, which aimed to reduce costs and limit unnecessary claims.
Despite a Supreme Court ruling last year clarifying the handling of mixed injury cases—where claimants suffer both whiplash and another injury—many such claims remain in the portal. Scott also welcomed the Justice Select Committee’s decision to reinstate its inquiry into County Court delays but suggested this was only part of the issue.
“Of equal concern to injured people is that the insurance claims process still seems broken. While the FCA has implemented the Consumer Duty to ensure fair treatment for policyholders, the customer claims journey remains mediocre,” he said.
In response to these challenges, ACSO is urging the FCA to publish its findings on premium savings without delay and calling on the Ministry of Justice to conduct a full review of the Civil Liability Act. This, Scott argued, should involve input from stakeholders on potential improvements to the OIC portal.
“As long as motor insurance remains a compulsory product, giving consumers no option to exit, it must be held to high standards of transparency and value for money. Currently, no such standards exist,” he added.
