The ABI has welcomed the Civil Justice Council's agreement on the level of success fees in employers' liability disease claims as a pragmatic resolution to the “costs war”.
The agreement sets out the success fee uplift that an insurer will pay the claimant's solicitor in an employers' liability disease claim. It follows similar agreements on success fees in personal injury arising from road traffic accidents implemented in October 2003, and from employers' liability accidents, implemented in October 2004.
“This agreement brings certainty for all parties,” said Nick Starling, the ABI's director of general insurance. “It is simple and easy to operate, and will significantly reduce the prospect of costly and lengthy litigation. Streamlining these costs makes the system more efficient, so more of the compensation paid reaches the claimants.”
Under the agreement, the success fee uplift for solicitors pursuing employers' liability claims will be:
- 27.5% of base costs for all asbestos related claims.
- 100% of base costs for stress and repetitive strain injury claims
- 62.5% of base costs for all other disease claims.
