ISO launches Personal Injury Claims Assessment Service (PICAS) — Industry's First Solution to Entirely Digitise the Personal Injury Claims Process

  • Connects lawyers and insurers for faster and fairer settlements 
  • Pilot scheme with three major insurers and two top law firms shows lifecycle of claims reduced by more than 50 per cent

London, UK – 16th February, 2009 – Insurance Services Office (ISO) Limited, a leading provider of next generation personal injury claims services in the U.K., has launched the Personal Injury Claims Assessment Service (PICAS), the industry's first solution to entirely digitise the claims process for personal injuries. PICAS will revolutionise the personal injury claims process by allowing - for the first time - solicitors and insurers to process claims using an integrated system, giving both parties the ability to seamlessly and quickly transfer claims information, as well as communicate more effectively throughout the settlement process.

The launch follows a highly successful pilot involving three leading insurance companies and two "top 20" law firms. The pilot demonstrated a dramatic reduction in the lifecycle of low-value personal injury claims, from about 290 days to less than 140 days.

Using PICAS, medical reports from referring doctors are created in digital format with WARP Technologies' cutting-edge medical reporting software, provided by Premier Medical, one of the first exponents of PICAS. The reports can then be imported into the insurer's version of ISO Claims Outcome Advisor, ISO's leading-edge personal injury claims evaluation system. The solicitors can insert their valuation of the claim into the system and compare it to the insurer's valuation, which is based on data from 10,000 recent settlements. The cases can be compared to similar injuries and claims in the COA database of historical settlements using information covering more than 18,000 medical conditions.

All previous cases within the database have been assessed by both solicitors and insurers, so both parties can be confident of a fair, independent valuation of a claim, with less potential for points of dispute. In this way, PICAS enables solicitors and insurers to settle claims quickly and fairly for the claimant.

Nick Addyman, senior partner at Cogent Solicitors and one of the lawyers participating in the pilot scheme, commented: "The current business process associated with 'low value' personal injury claims is unnecessarily cumbersome for the claimants. As  a group, we have come together with the intent to help develop a solution that is both fast and fair for the claimant, and efficient and effective for solicitors and insurers. The PICAS solution has worked seamlessly for us all and will have a major impact on the way the claims settlement process operates."

"PICAS will revolutionise the personal injury claims process, to the benefit of all parties: claimants, solicitors, insurers, and doctors," said Joe Pendle, director of Client Services for ISO. "Digitisation enables us to dramatically reduce the time it takes to process a claim, and by integrating COA, we can achieve a faster turnaround of cases, as well as greater consistency and fairness in the way settlements are agreed. That's the beauty of PICAS. It's a first for the industry and could potentially shape the way all insurance claims are handled."

About PICAS
The Personal Injury Claims Assessment Service (PICAS) is the industry's first solution to entirely digitise the settlement of personal injury claims. It has been developed by ISO in conjunction with medical professionals, claimant solicitors and insurance companies to provide a collaborative solution that is both fast and fair for the claimant. It ensures a reduction of paper transfer and handling to provide benefits to all involved parties. PICAS is a service of Insurance Services Office (ISO) Limited, a leading provider of personal injury claims solutions.

For More Information please contact Joe Pendle or Mark Strang on 01252 761351

About ISO:
A leading source of information about risk, ISO provides data, analytics, and decision-support services to professionals in many fields, including insurance, finance, real estate, health services, government, human resources, and risk management. Using advanced technologies to collect, analyse, develop, and deliver information, ISO helps customers evaluate and manage risk. The company draws on vast expertise in actuarial science, insurance coverages, fire protection, fraud prevention, catastrophe and weather risk, predictive modeling, data management, economic forecasting, social and technological trends, and many other fields. To meet the needs of diverse clients, ISO employs an experienced staff of business and technical specialists, analysts, and certified professionals. Around the world, ISO helps customers protect people, property, and financial assets. For more information, visit www.iso.com or contact:

Mark Strang
ISO – Business Development Manager
Tel:  01252 761055
Email: mstrang@iso.com

Manuela Whittaker
PR for ISO
Tel: 01780 721433
Email: mwhittaker@pressoffice.targetwire.com

Issuers of news releases, not Europewire, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.