Whiplash claims have changed
What’s changed?
On 31st May 2021, the Whiplash Reforms came into force. There’s no government campaign to let you know about the changes, so we thought we would give you a heads up.
This reduces the amount of compensation you will receive if you sustain a whiplash injury in a Road Traffic Accident and ultimately limits your access to legal advice and representation for these claims. It introduces a portal which you will have to claim through yourself, so you will be left to deal with your own claim from start to finish (we’ve mapped this out further down the page).
Sure, handling your own claim could be plain sailing, but there’s always a risk that your claim could easily go wrong and become complex, which would be time consuming, overwhelming and completely inconvenient for you at an already stressful time.
How can you access support and representation?
With reduced compensation now available, there is less incentive for solicitors to get involved in small claims. However, there is a way for you to still access support and have legal professionals handle your claim on your behalf... by having an ALPS Motor Legal Expenses Insurance policy in place.
This insurance policy not only gives you protection against additional costs in the event of a motoring accident, it ensures that you have access to a claims service which manages everything on your behalf. Yes, that even includes your whiplash claim, so you will save yourself a huge amount of time and effort by having this policy in place.
What if you don’t have this policy?
Don’t worry! If you didn’t take this policy out alongside your main insurance policy, then we can add it now which will end at your next point of renewal, at which point you can renew the policy properly.
It’s important to have this policy as soon as you can, as it can only be utilised if it’s in place before an accident - so contact us today to get this set up to make sure that you’ll have an easy ride if you need to claim.
What’s involved in handling your own injury claim?
In theory,
You will need to register with the new Official Injury Claim online portal.
You will need to add the third party’s details to find their insurer’s details.
You will need to submit their claim to their insurer via an online form, which will include their details, the accident details and any details regarding their injury and losses.
You will have to wait for up to 30 days to allow the third party insurers to investigate and return with a decision on liability.
If liability isn’t admitted by the third party, you will need to gather evidence and put their case to the insurer as to why they were not at fault for the accident.
You will need to arrange a medical examination with a medical expert via the online portal.
After your medical examination, you will need to check that you’re happy with the medical report and send it back for amendments if you aren’t.
You will need to arrange your own treatment either privately (paid for by yourself and look to claim the costs back) or through the NHS.
You will need to calculate and fully evidence any other losses you have (loss of earnings, property damage etc).
You will then have to submit your medical evidence, losses and documentation to the insurer and invite an offer to settle.
Then you will be waiting a settlement offer from the third party insurer.
If an offer is received, you will need to evaluate it and decide whether you believe it to be acceptable based on the information given to you by the notes on the Official Injury Claim portal and the third party insurer.
If an offer isn’t made due to liability being disputed, you will need to post the relevant paperwork to the court to begin small claims proceedings against the third party. You will need to represent yourself in these proceedings and ultimately a Judge will decide at a hearing who was at fault for the accident.
The same goes for when the third party insurers don’t make an offer or where no agreement can be reached on a settlement figure - you will need to post the relevant paperwork to the court to begin small claims proceedings against the third party. A judge at a hearing will determine the figure to be paid to the claimant, but again you will be expected to represent themselves.
What is ALPS Motor Legal Expenses Insurance?
This insurance policy provides you with an additional layer of protection, providing you with peace of mind knowing that you’ll be fully covered and supported in the event of a non-fault road traffic accident. This policy includes:
Up to £100,000 cover
Access to our award winning motor claims team and claims management services
Full personal injury cover (ensuring any whiplash claim will be handled completely by us)
Uninsured loss recovery (such as policy excess and loss of earnings)
Motor prosecution defence (legal defence in relation to a motoring offence)
Motor contract disputes (legal pursuit or defence over a contract)
Dedicated claims handler (someone to support and guide you from start to finish)
Optional upgrade to include a guaranteed hire vehicle (in the event of a fault accident)