Legal expenses boss hits out at Jackson

Elite Insurance chief executive Jason Smart has argued that the views of Lord Young and Lord Jackson would prevent innocent victims from gaining access to justice.

Smart, a founding member of the Consumer Justice Alliance (CJA), presented his views on ‘why the Jackson Review is fundamentally flawed’ at the Claims Standard Council conference on the ‘Future of Personal Injury’ in Manchester last week.

He said abolishing recoverability of After the Event (ATE) insurance premiums would also lead to an increase in fraud and frivolous claims as the ATE insurers themselves assess and reject many cases before the liability insurers see them.

Elite Insurance rejects 63% of the cases it receives, demonstrating that ATE insurance actually helps to keep unmeritorious claims out of the system, he claimed.

Smart also argued that the costs involved in ATE insurance have also been exaggerated by Lord Jackson and that it’s hardly the ‘cash cow’ that liability insurers claim it to be.

He said: "Contrary to what Lord Young says, the workplace can still be a dangerous place where injuries happen as a result of negligence. It is only right and fair that victims are able to gain unfettered access to justice and I believe that this will not be possible for many under the changes proposed by Lord Jackson.”

Last week, Insurance Times revealed that legal expenses insurer DAS was pulling out of the ABI over the trade bodies support of the Jackson Review.