Insurance Times Awards 2025: DWF highlights Plausibility Router as a tool against spurious injury claims

1. Why did you put yourselves forward for the Challenger of The Year category?

Unintended consequences of the Civil Liability Act 2018 included the increased amount of “non-tariff” injuries outside whiplash claims, with 72% of all injury claims valued at less than £5,000, resulting in an uplift of 150% of claim costs for insurers.

Some of these injuries may be genuine, but many are spurious additional injuries that are being made to inflate damages. This is the very behaviour the Civil Liability Act intended to address.

DWF uniquely developed a Plausibility Router, which is its technology proposition allowing insurers to identify and challenge spurious non-whiplash claims that are not compatible with the accident mechanism.

2. What do you think makes your entry stand out and why should you win the award?

DWF analysed a large amount of claims data, identifying trends and behaviours of claimant solicitors pursuing different additional injury claims, leading to substantial cost layering.

Profiling analysts provided market insight into the drivers behind claimant solicitors’ behaviours, which was purely profit driven, to include medical enablers. This insight was the catalyst to DWF’s initiative to design the Plausibility Router.

DWF’s strategic intent to tackle the rise of fraudulent and exaggerated injury claims by developing the Plausibility Router, identifying early spurious non-whiplash claims, enabled robust defence of these claims, leading to very high indemnity savings – over £1.3m savings for every 4,000 claims with additional injuries.

3. What would winning this award mean to you and your firm?

DWF’s investment in innovating legal services to be a market-leading challenger and disruptor for good is clearly demonstrated through DWF’s Plausibility Router.

This is a game changer for insurers being able to distinguish between plausible and implausible injuries. This proposition produces operational efficiencies while maintaining clients’ focus on a great customer journey, ensuring indemnity spend is reduced.

This underpins the aim of the Civil Justice Act and government in enabling insurers to reduce premiums.

DWF is very proud to have played an instrumental part in assisting with this issue and an award win would mean industry recognition for the work done.