ACSO calls for OIC portal review

The Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) has called for a government review to evaluate the effectiveness of recent personal injury legal reforms as the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal approaches its fourth anniversary. The portal, designed to process minor injury claims under £5,000, has seen over one million claims submitted, yet only around 300,000 have been processed.

ACSO executive director Matthew Maxwell Scott said a review would align with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) study into whether insurers have fulfilled their pledge to return £35 per year to motorists. He said motor insurers agreed to compensate consumers in return for them losing some of their rights of redress following an accident and the FCA has until the end of March to say whether that has happened and to what extent. He added that given the cost of motor insurance remains near historic highs, ACSO is sceptical that insurers have met their promises but expects them to offer explanations.

Maxwell Scott said it was the right time for new ministers to take a fresh look at the impact of previous personal injury reforms, which aimed to cut costs and reduce unnecessary claims. He said the OIC had overseen a 50 per cent drop in claims since 2018 despite vehicle numbers and annual mileage remaining steady. He noted that people are still getting injured but are choosing not to claim and that it is vital to understand why, particularly as motor insurance costs soared to record levels in 2024.

He questioned why only one in ten claimants use the OIC portal unaided when it was designed to be consumer-friendly, suggesting that the complexity of the process may be discouraging people from claiming. He also highlighted that despite a Supreme Court ruling last year on mixed injury cases, many claims remain unresolved in the portal. He said ACSO had expected the backlog to clear but it does not appear