Citing what it describes as "increasing financial pressures on the sector over the last two years following the implementation of the whiplash reforms and the more recent wider economic conditions", the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has launched a consultation titled "Revisions to the Medical Reporting Process for Road Traffic Accident Claims".

The MOJ has stated that it considers it an appropriate time "to consult on a number of medico-legal reporting issues related to the MedCo process, fixed cost medical reports and the implementation of the OIC service" and is seeking stakeholder input on several issues namely;

• Revised Medical Reporting Organisation ("MRO") qualifying criteria and Direct Medical Experts ("DMEs") rules;
• The MedCo ‘offer’ for both represented and unrepresented claimants;
• Use of administration agencies by DMEs and how this can be effectively overseen;
• The level of the fixed cost medical report regime; and
• Changes to improve the quality of medical reports and how medical reports for represented claimants are sourced.

Of particular interest to insurers are the proposed changes relating to the use of administration agencies, the fees and process changes as to how reports are sourced.

Having noted an increase in the use by DMEs of Administration Agencies ("AAs") in order to adhere to new rules on back-office support when providing medical reports to unrepresented claimants, the MOJ says that it wishes to address various concerns highlighted around the involvement of AAs and have set out various options ranging from doing nothing, to requiring registration with MedCo.

The consultation also contains proposals for an increase in a number of fees, broadly in line with SPPI inflation, with some being set out below. Similar levels of increase are proposed for other fees.

Among the process changes, there is stated to be a desire to align the processes for obtaining medical reports so that all claims follow the process currently applicable to unrepresented claimants. This would mean that represented claimants would also obtain their medical reports via the OIC system, after an admission of liability or fault, with the report provider responsible for the fact checking and uploading of the completed report. The MoJ consider this change would allow for more effective monitoring and better support future improvement roll-outs.

The consultation, which closes at 23:59 on the 10^th October 2023 seeks evidence on various issues along with explanations for views expressed. 

DAC Beachcroft Claims Limited intends to respond to the consultation. Should you wish to discuss any of the issues raised in the consultation please contact Andrew Parker, Jo Folan, Pete Allchorne or Emma Fuller.