Garwyn chief supports Cameron’s compensation culture plans

Businesses leaders and insurers have been called on to take the next step in tackling the compensation culture in the UK following their meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron this week.

Leading UK liability adjuster Garwyn Group gave the thumbs up to the government’s plans to address the issue subsequent to the meeting held at 10 Downing Street and urged companies to do their part.

Artur Niemczewski, chief executive for Garwyn, said: “There are finer details which still need to be considered but in general these are positive first moves by the government. Certainly, it is good to see the government has recognised insurers and businesses have the same objective and are working together toward the common goal of reducing compensation culture.

“We also welcome cuts in health and safety red tape and a reduction in legal fees for small value claims. By cutting legal fees the government is taking away much of the incentive to pursue speculative claims. However, this will not reduce the incentive to exaggerate or inflate claims value, an issue which also needs to be addressed.”

“The onus is now on businesses and their insurers to take the next steps to reducing the compensation culture.”

Garwyn, which has experience in protecting businesses from the rising compensation culture, has urged firms to implement proportional and relevant health and safety measures through the use of health and safety liability specialists on claims and the specific industry to prevent accidents.

The adjuster also advised businesses to tackle the compensation culture within the organisation by investigating all claims thoroughly, taking a robust stance on suspicious claims and challenging liability as a deterrent to speculative and copy cat claims.

Niemczewski continued: “The key to reducing the compensation culture is to investigate claims early to identify speculative, inflated or fraudulent claims and gather the necessary evidence to robustly defend liability. With fraud in employer’s liability and public liability claims a rising issue, businesses need to show they are not soft targets and they need to start doing this quickly.”