Insurer's law panel will have to seek settlement in selected claims cases
Allianz Cornhill is to force its panel solicitors to undertake mediation on selected cases.
The move is part of the insurer's strategy to raise the profile of mediation in its claims business plan for 2004.
All third party motor, employers' liability and public liability claims will be covered.
Initially, claims managers at each of its seven branch offices will be told to select up to six cases that are suitable for compromise settlement. Panel solicitors will then be told to attempt mediation on these cases.
The reaction of claimant solicitors can then be gauged to determine whether mediation can be used more widely.
Allianz Cornhill technical claims manager Bob Rabbits said: "Mediation is encouraged under the Woolf reforms, but in reality it is used very little. I blame the lawyers for this. It is up to insurers to drive this forward. We need to be forceful in getting cases to mediation."
Rabbits said that using mediation would help to reduce legal costs by speeding up settlement times. "Our third party claims cost bill is frightening and we need to do something about it."
He accepted that the move would only be successful if claimant solicitors agreed. "If they do respond negatively then we will want to know why. Ultimately, if they put up a barrier, the industry as a whole will need to find a way through."
