With the news that the whiplash reforms will be delayed once more - this time until April 2021 - the Keoghs Market Affairs team looks at what is now needed from Government to make sure the extra time is not wasted.
The Lord Chancellor announced on Tuesday that the impact of COVID-19 on the insurance, legal and medical professions meant that the implementation of the whiplash reforms in August 2020 would need to be delayed once more. With pandemic response dominating every sector at the current time, this announcement seemed inevitable. The question now turns to what’s next?
Broadly speaking, the steps required before the April 2021 implementation date remain the same as they were before COVID-19. We have previously written about outstanding issues as well as going through the remaining political and parliamentary steps that need to be taken prior to implementation.
These remain unchanged. However, what has changed is that the Government and all stakeholders now have more preparatory time. With insurers still needing to take steps towards readiness, the Government must act transparently and produce a clear timetable that will allow the industry to be involved in every stage of the process.
If insurers are sufficiently involved and outstanding queries answered quickly, this transparency will help the industry prepare and make sure it is ready come April 2021.
This is really important. There is a lot of information that hasn’t been released but that we know exists. We know this because the MIB have been able to build the Official Injury Claim Portal with a caveat that tweaks will need to be made depending on what the final rules look like.
On the 2nd February at an MIB whiplash reforms seminar in London, the MoJ was criticised for their “secrecy” by not releasing the draft rules to the claimant and defendant communities. The response was that the MoJ would “reflect” on this criticism, and will update stakeholders on the provision of as much information as possible in due course. Understandably given current events, this has not been provided.
However, the additional time now available means that it’s vital that the Government provide the transparency that is desperately needed by insurers in order for the necessary planning and operational steps to take place. This should be neither time-consuming nor controversial.
The Keoghs Market Affairs Team will continue engaging with parliamentarians and Government stakeholders to put the important issue of transparency on the MoJ’s radar.
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