The future of Claimsense, the claims resolution company, is in doubt after the defection of its technology and claims partner Elision to InterResolve.
The news comes less than one year after the company was founded by AXA and Russell Jones & Walker (RJW).
Adrian Maurice, chief executive of Elision said "Claimsense as a brand is on pause." He added that Elision's move was the result of "different priorities and different expertise".
Neil Kinsella, chief executive of RJW, maintained that Claimsense was "moving in a new direction," and would be ex-ploring other possibilities in the market. He declined to comment on the details.
Elision will now work with InterResolve, as part of the Resolusion Alliance, providing technology and evidence gathering systems to help process volumes of claims, running into the "hundreds of thousands".
The alliance, the result of £5m of investment, will offer services to large companies, local authorities, solicitors and insurers for employers', public liability and road traffic accident claims. Resolusion claims the new system will cut third party costs in half.
Under the system, LawAlliance will provide fixed legal cost advice, and claimants will receive independent legal advice after their rehabilitation.
InterResolve remains the contracting party with insurers.
Peter Ashdown-Barr, chief executive of InterResolve said: "Major players are on board – the names you would expect to see."
An InterResolve spokesman added: "We have three insurers in the pipeline." ' A ruling on periodic payments could prove a major blow to the insurance industry, after a judge declared that the retail price index was an unfair measurement for assessing a claim.
The claimant sought a periodic repayment as opposed to a lump sum, with annual increases based on an earning related index, ASHE 6115, rather than the retail price index.
An industry source estimated the revised pay-out, if implemented, would be "equivalent to the amount of inflation – between 1% and 1.5%."
The judgment in Corbett v South Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority follows a similar ruling in Thompstone in November, and is the second in a set of four NHS test cases.
Both cases have been referred the Court of Appeal, and are scheduled to be heard in November.
