Claims Excellence Awards finalist 2021 Q&A: Minster Law’s ADR initiative delivers settlements within 10 days

Here we feature Minster Law’s entry into the Customer Care Solution of the Year category

Claims handler Minster Law entered its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) initiative into this category – to see more fantastic Q&As from finalists, click here

What key achievement did your entry highlight?

Our ADR initiative drastically reduces the time taken to achieve resolutions for personal injury claimants. We’re delivering settlement decisions on 100% of cases in the programme within an average of 10 days of starting the ADR process – a mere blink of the eye, compared to the 10+ months claimants wait for Stage 3 court hearings.

This is significant and shows how insurers and law firms can collaborate to remove stress, cost, and friction for the customer. This initiative is one of the first of its kind in the personal injury market and provides a potential blueprint for widespread adoption of ADR in the market as a genuine alternative to litigation.

Can you share data or testimonials to back up your bid to win?

Claims in our ADR programme are settled within an average of 2.5 working days, with the quickest settlement time being just 24 hours. This is a phenomenal time difference compared to claims going to trial, which take between 51 weeks and 73 weeks according to the Ministry of Justice’s latest report. 

“Minster advised me to go through an independent arbitrator service which I agreed to. The experience was uncomplicated and they took care of everything. I got a good result in less than two weeks. This saved a long wait for the decision to go through court. I would highly recommend Minster.”

What sets your firm apart from the other shortlisted contenders?

We’re not your traditional law firm. We’re mediators and prefer fixing to fighting. We believe our business is about helping people. It’s who we are and influences all we do. It’s the customer’s journey, not ours, and we recognise most customers just want appropriate and timely resolutions rather than legal fights.

This is why we proactively collaborate with insurers to reduce stress and friction within the customer journey, using it as an integral part of our process fordelivering the best outcomes and customer care.

How will you celebrate if you are the victor?

Our ADR programme is a catalyst for greater consensus and more widespread adoption of ADR in settling personal injury claims, so winning will be a huge testament to the importance of ADR and help the practice gain further traction in the industry.

We’ll celebrate with our teams at Minster who are committed to doing the right thing for our customers. And we’ll shout loud and proud about our win to encourage others in our industry to follow suit!