Following on from her last article back in April when we were still awaiting the launch of the OIC portal, Stacey Goodchild, Managing Director of Motor Claims reflects on what we’ve seen so far and what opportunities and challenges still have to play out for defendants and insurers.

Key findings so far

• More than 80% of claims submitted via the OIC portal involve claimant solicitors
• Exceptional injuries feature in just over 20% of claims submitted at this early stage
• There’s a deficit of around 25% compared with anticipated claims volumes

The effect on claimant firms

The claims submitted so far show a high degree of concentration across a relatively small number of claimant firms, and some well-respected claimant players have not been active in the OIC portal yet. The expectation is that while some are still perfecting their A2A technology and will be active in the OIC portal as soon as they can, other firms may have strategically changed their business models. There is a view that this will support further consolidation in the claimant legal market.

What has it meant for insurers?

The challenge for insurers and defendants is to get the best from the new process and thereby achieve a competitive advantage. As always, data collection and analysis are key to gain insight and shape strategy. The proportion of claims reaching the medical report/settlement stage is still relatively small, however, as settlement volumes increase, data analysis will become ever more important.

How we’ve adapted to the reforms

We are using our AI led data analysis model to tackle the claims coming through the portal, and at this early stage an area of interest for insurers is examining claims for consistency at each stage. For example, using AI to compare data from initial phone calls, from SCNF and from medical reports. Our AI can also support `know your opponent` analysis to understand behaviours and how to achieve optimal settlements for additional injuries and claims for exceptional circumstances.

The benefit of AI led data analysis is that it gives insurers an edge in getting quickly and accurately under the skin of claimant and representative behaviours and tactics, and provides real time tracking to help us spot changing behaviours and emerging trends. Along with our legal solutions division and law firm Keoghs, we are sharing our insights with clients and working with them to develop and refine strategies to give them best real-life outcomes in an evolving landscape.