OIC portal savings ‘at risk’ as non-tariff personal injury claims surge past 50%

More than half of the personal injury claims submitted via the Ministry of Justice’s Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal are defined as secondary soft tissue injuries that fall outside of the system’s underlying tariff table, according to new analysis by data analytics and technology firm Verisk.

The OIC portal was first introduced in May 2021 as part of the Civil Liability Act 2018, colloquially known as the whiplash reform – this regulation sought to reduce the number and cost of whiplash claims arising after road traffic accidents.

It hoped to achieve this ambition by introducing a comprehensive table of set compensation amounts for soft tissue injury claims, based on injury duration, as well as launch an online claims submission portal – the OIC system – that litigants in person could use themselves rather than employing law firms.

Verisk’s exclusive analysis of OIC portal data has found, however, that four years on from the OIC portal’s launch, the system is facing new pressures as non-tariff injuries – referring to personal injuries that are not defined as whiplash – now account for more than half of the portal’s claims submissions.

Verisk noted that while whiplash only claims have decreased in cost and duration, as intended by the Civil Liability Act’s measures, greater attention and claims volume has shifted to secondary soft tissue injuries that fall outside of the tariff table – such as sprains and strains.

The proportion of claims involving non-tariff injuries rose from 37% in 2021 to more than 53% by mid-2025, the firm reported, with average injuries per claim increasing from 0.7 to 1.1.

Simon Bradshaw, head of personal injury claims at Verisk Claims, said: “Those claims which involved whiplash only injuries have certainly seen a reduction in the time taken to conclude and for the injured party to receive compensation.

”What we are seeing [now] is an increase in the proportion of claims which involve soft tissue injuries which fall outside of that whiplash definition. And by falling outside [of the] whiplash definition, they fall outside of that tariff.”

Bradshaw explained that this trend was undermining the whiplash reform’s initial success.

He continued: “The average number of reported injuries has risen, recovery times are increasing and delays in medical reports are creating uncertainty for insurers. As the proportion of whiplash only claims falls, average total claim costs are rising and more cases risk exceeding the small claims track limit.”

Tariff mechanism needs to go further

Figures published by the FCA in March 2023 confirmed that the Civil Liability Act had helped deliver savings in motor premiums, with gross written premium for this line of business falling from £12.7bn to £11.8bn in the first three years of the OIC’s operation – the equivalent of a £15 saving per policy.

Bradshaw noted that these gains were now at risk of being eroded.

He explained: “When claims migrate out of the OIC [portal], additional legal costs are introduced alongside higher damages. That means the early successes of reducing damages and legal costs are now at risk.

“The tariff has worked. The learning is that it hasn’t gone far enough. It could be expanded to cover other soft tissue injuries, or a second tariff could be introduced because we know the tariff mechanism delivers certainty and reduces disputes.

“If we’re not going to have a single portal that can deal with [these] claims regardless of value, there needs to be a better bridging mechanism as claims migrate from one portal to another. Currently, claimants and insurers may have to restart the process if a claim exceeds limits part way, adding operational pain and delay.”

With more than one million claims now being processed through the OIC portal and 350,000 settlements reached, Bradshaw said the system had broadly delivered on its original purpose – but warned that insurers could not afford to be complacent.

“As a whole, the portal has stood up really well. As the system evolves, new trends are emerging that could challenge the reform’s objectives,” he concluded.