Changes to the way that personal injury claims are made in road traffic accidents come into effect at the end of April 2010. The main changes, made by the Ministry of Justice, are designed to reduce the time that it takes for disputes to be settled. The idea is that this will be achieved by setting fixed time limits and costs for less complicated accidents.
Steps to make this change were made after the government consulted a number of representatives from different claimants and insurers. The focus of this change is based on one of the main strategic objectives of the Ministry of Justice, which is to:
“Provide fair and simple routes to civil and family justice.”
Source: Ministry of Justice, http://www.justice.gov.uk/about.htm
The new rules and procedures surrounding road traffic accident claims will help the Ministry of Justice to achieve this goal, as well as improving the way that claims are handled.
This new process will encourage insurers, compensators and claimant lawyers to process or make claims online through a central portal website. By ensuring that forms are standardised and that timescales agreed in advance, the changes to the claim process will make it simpler and faster to process a personal injury claim after a road traffic accident.
It is estimated that up to 500,000 people claiming for motoring-related personal injuries will benefit from the new system. The main claims affected will be personal injury claims valued at £1,000 to £10,000. The changes to how road traffic accident claims are made and processed will be effective from 30th April 2010.
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