News
Whiplash reforms mean change to our rules
03 June 2021
The Civil Liability Act 2018 (CLA) and the Whiplash Injury Regulations - more commonly known as the whiplash reforms - came into effect at the start of the week (May 31) and make a number of changes that will affect how consumers make a PI whiplash claim.
The CLA introduces a ban on offers to settle road traffic accident (RTA) related whiplash claims without a medical report (‘pre-medical offers’). This applies to anyone regulated by us, as well as the Financial Conduct Authority, the Bar Standards Board and CILEx Regulation.
Until they have seen appropriate evidence of injury, all regulated persons are prohibited from:
- inviting a person to offer a payment in settlement of the claim
- offering a payment in settlement of the claim
- making a payment in settlement of the claim, and
- accepting a payment in settlement of the claim.
This will apply to all cases regardless of the claim value. Medical reports will continue to be sourced through MedCo to make sure that the reports are provided by accredited, independent experts and meet minimum standards.
We have made a change to the Regulatory and Disciplinary Procedure Rules by making reference in rule 1.2(b) to the CLA. This means that we will explicitly treat a failure to comply with the ban as potential misconduct.