The number of low value personal injury motor claims has fallen every year since the launch of the Official Injury Claims (OIC) portal, with a total of 340,295 claims passing through the two main injury portals over the course of 2024.
This is some 4% lower than in 2023, and in fact the volume of claims passing through the portal has fallen in each of the last five years. Indeed, over the last two years only five months have reported an increasing number of claims compared to the same month a year earlier.
The majority of low value personal injury claims are now captured through the OIC portal, with less than a quarter of all claims still passing through the original Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Claims Portal in 2024.
The average level of general damages paid through the MoJ Claims Portal has increased over that time, although this should be of no surprise given the OIC portal was intended to capture the majority of the lower value claims, with the MoJ Claims Portal left to deal with the more complex – and costly – cases.
Immediately prior to the introduction of the OIC portal in May 2021, average general damages stood at a little under £3,000, rising to almost £6,400 by the end of December 2024.
Claims passing through the OIC portal, meanwhile, have significantly lower average settlements.
In December 2024, the average settlement value for represented claims ranged from a little under £1,200 for non-tariff injuries, while those falling under the tariff stood at less than £800. There was also an average tariff uplift of £200. Unrepresented claims were slightly lower than this, but at a broadly similar level.
This will be welcome news for insurers as they continue to struggle with rising claims costs and a spotlight on affordability following the Labour government coming to power in July of last year.
The Insurance DataLab market intelligence platform features a wealth of additional information on personal injury claims across motor, employer’s liability and public liability, as well as further claims data from the FCA. Request your free demo today.