InterResolve has launched a telephone mediation scheme for unresolved personal injury (PI) claims, following completion of a pilot with AXA.

The pilot, which began in April and involved 50 cases, successfully reduced settlement times from over

18 months to seven weeks. Despite being used across a range of claim values, it had a settlement rate of 88% and an uptake of 85% from claimant lawyers.

The scheme is now being adopted by other insurers, including Fortis and Allianz.

David Fisher, liability claims technical manager at AXA, said: “[This] has delivered tangible benefits to us and to claimants alike. It is clear that this approach has an important role to play in the settlement of large volumes of outstanding PI claims right across the industry.”

Nick Gunter, head of technical claims at Fortis, added that with mediation included as part of InterResolve’s claims package, it could yield savings in excess of £400 per claim.

At present, less than 1% of PI claims go through mediation.

InterResolve said it aimed to increase this figure significantly.