AXA has cut its solicitor panel by half for England and Wales following a comprehensive review.
The new panel of six firms would come into effect on 1 October 2004, said the insurer.
It said the reduction in panel numbers was mainly due to a “considerable fall in the volume of litigated claims and is a result of improved operational performance in AXA's claims handling offices”.
The revised panel consists of the following firms:
1 Beachcroft Wansboroughs (Birmingham)
2 Capital Law (Cardiff)
3 Cartwrights (Bristol)
4 Keoghs (Bolton)
5 Keoghs (Coventry)
6 Morgan Cole (Reading)
AXA Insurance head of liability claims and professional services Matthew Scott said: “A reduction in the number of our contracted solicitors offices was vital in order to sustain effective & efficient business operations. It has been a difficult decision given that all of the offices on our previous panel provided us with good level of service.
“I am confident that our thorough selection process has resulted in a panel very well suited to our future requirements and I look forward to working with the chosen firms in the continued development of our business.”
The AXA 'catastrophic claim' legal panel and the arrangements for Scottish solicitor firms remained unchanged by the review, said the company.
