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16 December 2011 / Karl Tonks
Issue: 7494 / Categories: Features , Damages , Personal injury
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No pot of gold

Injured claimants should not be subsidising the insurance industry, says Karl Tonks

In February 2010 the then government said it was “persuaded that an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau (ELIB) should form part of the package of measures to improve the lives of those who are unable to trace an old employer or their insurer”. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in its consultation, Accessing Compensation, said that the ELIB would be a fund of last resort to ensure that injured workers would receive their rightful compensation. That consultation closed on 5 May 2010, the day before the general election. As a consequence of the election result, the responses landed on the desk of the incoming coalition. Now it is more than 18 months since the new government came to power and yet we still have not had a response to the consultation.

Difficulties exacerbated

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said previously that “insurers remain fully committed to paying fair compensation claimants as quickly as possible”. However, the insurance

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Centuries-old burial laws would be overhauled, under Law Commission proposals to address the burgeoning problem of shortage of cemetery space
The government has committed an extra £32m to women’s charities and services tackling addiction, trauma, abuse and homelessness
The Financial Ombudsman is poised for major reform to return it to a simple, impartial dispute resolution service
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