Wollard vs Fowler deal
A selection of press coverage:
Insurers agree fees for medical reports
Tom Flack
An agreement to cap medical reporting fees has been reached between 10 leading insurers and medico-legal reporting organisations. The deal could slash the fees paid by insurers by up to 20%, according to the Association of Medical Reporting Organisations.
The agreement brings to an end a lengthy period of court rulings, which began in 2004. As part of the deal, insurers have agreed to withdraw their appeal of the decision in Wollard vFowler, which ruled that insurers should be responsible for paying for the disbursement of medical reporting fees.
Fixed fees have now been agreed for medical reporting for road traffic accidents, employers’ liability and public liability cases where damages do not exceed £15,000.
The fees start at £195 for a GP referral with no report, significantly less than the current average of £250. Insurers retain the right to seek lower fees from independent medical reporters. Ray Fisher, senior claims technician at Zurich, said: “We are extremely pleased to reach this landmark industry agreement on medical fees.” This new agreement will bring certainty around the pricing of medical reports, and reduce unnecessary time spent negotiating costs.
WOOLLARD DEAL
The eight largest medico-legal reporting organisations (MROs) and ten leading insurers last week reached agreement on capped agency fees for medical reports in road traffic accident and employer’s and public liability cases where damages do not exceed £15,000. The mediated settlement, which followed a request to stay the Court of Appeal hearing of Woollard V Fowler, provides that insurers will not challenge the amount of the fee provided it is within the cap. The agreement sets two levels of fees, the lower sum for payment within 90 days. The cap for a GP’s report is E195 if paid within 90 days, and £220 if not. The MROs were represented by London firm Colman Coyle, for whom Howard Colman said:’The parties were assisted by the Civil Justice Council in resolving their differences and it was heartening to see goodwill and a desire to find a workable solution: Nation-al firm Beachcroft acted for the insurers. The agreement expressly provides for other MROs and insurers to join the scheme.
Report costs settled
Post Magazine
INSURERS have welcomed the end of lengthy disputes over medical report costs after settlement was reached with providers. Norwich Union, Allianz, Fortis, Zurich, HSBC, Axa, Churchill, Direct Line and Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance agreed with medico-reporting agencies on the amount to be charged for reports on cases where general damages are not anticipated to exceed £15 000.
Ray Fisher, senior claims technician at Zurich, commented: “We’re extremely pleased to reach this landmark industry agreement on medical fees. This new agreement will bring certainty around the pricing of medical reports, and reduce unnecessary, expensive satellite litigation. “The flexibility of this new process is important to insurers and the legal community, because it gives us the option to pay for medical services up front, which removes the costly time spent negotiating at the end of the claim, which could range from a matter of days up to two years.”