Andrew Wild, head of legal at First4InjuryClaims
By Legal Futures Associate First4Lawyers
A law firm launched to help victims of road traffic accidents in the wake of the whiplash reforms says it is settling cases more than three months faster than the market average.
First4InjuryClaims, which handles almost equal volumes of tariff only and mixed injury claims, says it is currently resolving cases on average over 100 days faster than the 238-day average settlement time those using the government’s Official Injury Claim portal (OIC) face.
The firm, an alternative business structure (ABS), was set up in 2021 to handle all RTA enquiries coming through the First4Lawyers group, despite it ceasing marketing activity in the area.
It has now recovered more than £2 million in compensation for injured clients in its first 18 months of trading.
As the OIC portal approaches its second anniversary next month, figures show that its aim of enabling injured motorists to seek redress without needing professional legal representation continues to fail. Around 90% of claimants still instruct a lawyer to help them navigate the complex system and, overall, the average settlement time for represented and unrepresented claimants now stands at a record 238 days – almost eight months.
Andrew Wild, head of legal at First4InjuryClaims says the unique timing of the firm’s launch meant it was able to avoid many of the problems its competitors and predecessors faced.
“First4InjuryClaims was something of a blank canvas for us because it was set up in response to the Civil Liability Act,” he says.
“While other firms struggled to adapt and find a profitable way of doing the same work with much tighter margins, we were able to model our business plan around the reforms and dovetail the systems and processes we use with those of the OIC, which is often easier than having to instigate change.
“We have utilised technology to support the claims process whilst ensuring we provide the highest levels of client care. At the core of our proposition is our people, and the positive culture and values throughout the team.
“I think we can all agree that the portal was not ready to go live when it did but, almost two years on, with 90% of claimants still instructing a lawyer for their OIC claim, the need for firms like ours is now greater than ever.”
Research for First4Lawyers’ latest White Paper – ‘Trust me, I’m a lawyer – marketing legal services in 2023’ – found that at least a quarter of firms that had handled lower-value RTA work prior to the reforms had quit that corner of the market, with more set to follow.
Bucking the trend, First4InjuryClaims, which also deals with higher value RTA claims that fall outside the portal, has and continues to grow the team to meet demand.
Qamar Anwar, group managing director, adds: “I’m delighted that we are bucking the trend and in doing so helping injured clients who may otherwise struggle to access the support they need following a road traffic accident. That’s what we set First4InjuryClaims up for.
“We remain committed to ensuring that consumers have access to the support required to navigate their claim following a road traffic accident whilst ensuring that our panel firms have the knowledge that we continue to generate non-RTA leads for the benefit of our marketing collective.”
