Business
Update on Ministry of Justice Proposals
Update on Ministry of Justice Proposals.
About this update from Nahl Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 3308Z NAHL Group PLC 14 March 2017 \n\n14 March 2017 \nNAHL Group PLC\n(\"NAHL\" or the \"Group\")\n \nUpdate on Ministry of Justice Proposals\n \nNAHL (AIM: NAH), the leading UK marketing and services business focused on the UK consumer legal market, today provides an update on the recent Ministry of Justice (\"MoJ\") proposals, announced as part of the Prisons and Courts Bill. \n \nIn February 2017 the Government published its response to the consultation it first announced in November 2015. The response outlined two key outcomes: firstly that it will seek to restrict compensation for sufferers of minor whiplash injuries to small pre-defined amounts depending on length of injury; and secondly it will raise the upper limit for the small claims track for RTA claims from £1,000 to £5,000 and for non-RTA claims to £2,000. The new regulatory regime is scheduled to take effect from October 2018 although there remain a number of unresolved important points on which the Group awaits clarification.\n \nWhilst, from a non-RTA perspective, these changes were lower than had been proposed, they still represent a fundamental change for the PI market as a whole which will lead to significant changes in the way many PI claims are processed.\n \nThe Board estimates that historically less than 30% of total enquiry volumes generated through our PI division will fall below the new thresholds and have to be processed through the small claims track. Our approach to processing these particular claims will require further refinement and a pricing adjustment for those claims that will be subject to lower settlements. \n \nWe remain in close contact with our Panel Law Firms (PLFs), as we have done since the regulatory changes were first proposed in 2015. The discussions we have had with them, as well as the results of the trials conducted on a proportion of our case volumes, lead us to conclude that we should continue with the strategic decision we took in 2016 to invest in a proportion of our enquiries through different commercial and structural arrangements to those we normally deploy. This involves us playing a more proactive role in the entire conduct and financing of a PI case. We are committing further investment through 2017 resulting in a deferment of profit and cash flow, which will be real...