The head of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers is going out to insurance companies to get their opinions on law firms

The president of the body representing insurance lawyers is to canvas opinion on how law firms can improve the way they work with insurers.

Henry Bermingham, president of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (Foil), is to spend the next two months on the road talking to senior claims executives at insurance companies.

The aim is to garner views on the developing legal environment, such as the claims process reforms and Legal Services Bill, and the service insurers get from their retained law firms.

The process, which has been dubbed Foil’s “big conversation,” will form the lynchpin of Bermingham’s presidency.

He said: “It is a big year, with the Ministry of Justice’s reforms and the changes to law firms’ business structures. The time has come for Foil to talk to insurers about how they see the future, what their worries are, and how they view the provision of legal services.”

In the past such discussions had been on an informal basis, but it was now time to put them on a more formal footing, he said.

Bermingham said the exercise, which would be carried out with Foil vice-president Anthony Hughes, would lead to a report that would be presented to members in June.