The majority of you reading this will probably be unaware that as from last week the protocol which solicitors and insurers follow for pursuing claims for compensation has changed. There has always been a protocol that governs the claiming world, and it’s what lawyers and insurers use in order to manage claims efficiently – the rules are important for claims to be completed properly!
And as of Friday April 30th 2010, the new Road Traffic Accident Protocol comes in to affect, which will now be used as the rules and regulations for all road traffic accident claims that occur on or after the date mentioned above!
What does it all mean for you – the claimant – and how are solicitors treating it?
Well in theory the new protocol will make the claiming process quicker. The current Personal Injury Protocol (which of course remains in effect for all non-road accident claims) allows the defendant (person or company responsible for the accident – also known as the third party) 21-days to acknowledge a claim, and 3 months to investigate the circumstances and provide their decision as to whether they will accept responsibility for the claim or not.
The new RTA protocol is all processed through an online portal – and now, insurers have to be much quicker when it comes to investigating the claim!
Insurers now must acknowledge claims the following business day from the submission of the notification, and 15 days from the claim notification to accept responsibility for the accident.
Much quicker!
You see, road traffic accident claims are generally very straightforward but insurers still take their time in investigating straightforward cases – mainly because they don’t treat them with the urgency we lawyers give to claims. We dedicate ourselves to providing the highest quality service to our clients; so the rules changing to make it quicker we see as a HUGE benefit to our clients!
With the whole process being progressed through a secure online portal, information is exchanged much quicker between parties and we can progress the claims for the clients in a more efficient manner!
The whole claim is front-loaded at the initial phase, so more information is exchanged in the early stages of the claim. We have always front-loaded our clients’ claims because it does make the claims process quicker – so again the new protocol already ties in with our already efficient service! Another great benefit for our clients!
Other than a faster service, what else does this mean for the claimants?
Here at The Injury Lawyers we make sure we have fully accurate information from the beginning of the claim. So as a little piece of advice: if you are ever involved in a road accident, make sure that you take all the details of the parties involved – particularly the full name, address, vehicle registration and make/model of the driver at fault.
Should you ever need to make a claim, the more information you have, the quicker we can get it settled for you!
As specialist personal injury claim lawyers, who pride ourselves on our client care and service, adapting to the new protocol is easy for us! Make sure you get expert representation for your claim for compensation – particularly if you have been involved in a road traffic accident.
