The Civil Liability Act

Time: Registration and refreshments with light buffet lunch from 12:30pm for 1.00pm start (2:00pm finish)

Room: The Studio at the Carriageworks

The session will focus on the “what next” – what next for the whiplash reforms, and what next for the discount rate?

Who should attend?
For whiplash and the discount rate: anyone involved in the claims side of personal injury claims. Those involved in the underwriting side will also be interested to hear what might happen to the discount rate and when.

Why you should attend
The Civil Liability Act received Royal Assent on 20 December 2018. This piece of legislation is split into two parts:
• Part 1: The whiplash reforms. This reduces the amount of compensation available for low value whiplash claims, and bans pre medical offers.
• Part 2: Changes to the Discount Rate. This amends the process by which the personal injury discount rate is set and outlines the process for both the first review of the rate and all subsequent reviews.

Learning Objectives
By the end of the session, participants will have a deeper understanding of:
• The parameters of the whiplash reforms, and how these are likely to be implemented by the Government’s stated implementation date of April 2020; and
• The timings of the first review of the Discount rate, as well as learn what practitioners are seeing cases settle at and how this might impact the first review of the rate.

Speaker Biography
Samantha is responsible for leading Keoghs' public affairs and thought leadership programme. This includes keeping informed with and influencing any policy development that may affect the insurance industry through liaising with representatives within Government, Westminster and other relevant industry stakeholders.

She joined Keoghs in October 2015 from the Association of British Insurers where she was the policy lead on civil justice issues, responsible for identifying and developing ABI policy in several key areas that directly affect the costs facing and the reputation of the insurance industry. This primarily included work on the implementation of Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Bill (now Act) and related secondary legislation, as well as lobbying to secure an extension in the claims limit for the RTA Portal and extending the model to employers’ and public liability.

Prior to the ABI, Samantha worked in private practice as a commercial insurance litigation solicitor.