Overview

This Civil Liability Bill amends existing laws related to personal injury claims in England and Wales. Key changes include requiring insurers to report on the financial impact of the bill and ensuring the Lord Chancellor consults the Lord Chief Justice before making certain regulations.

Description

The bill makes several key changes:

• Consultation Requirement: The Lord Chancellor must consult with the Lord Chief Justice before creating regulations under the act.
• Grammatical Correction: A minor amendment corrects a grammatical error related to “injury” vs. “injuries”.
• Insurer Reporting Requirements: Insurers must provide data to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on the financial impacts of the bill on their third-party personal injury policies issued after April 1, 2020, including amounts paid, potential amounts had the act not been passed, and premium changes. This data must be audited.
• Reporting Period: The Treasury is required to submit a report to Parliament summarizing information on the impact on policyholders by April 1, 2024.
• FCA Role: The FCA will assist the Treasury in the preparation of this report and its responsibilities are defined within the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
• Geographical Scope: The Act applies only to England and Wales.

Government Spending

The bill does not directly allocate new government funds. The cost of data collection and report preparation by the Treasury and FCA is implied but not explicitly stated.

Groups Affected

• Insurers: Required to collect and submit data, potentially incurring costs in data collection, audit, and reporting. May experience changes in premiums and payouts.
• Policyholders: May see changes in premiums and the amount of payouts received for personal injury claims. The report to Parliament will aim to assess the overall impact on policyholders.
• The Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice: Involved in regulatory decisions.
• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): Given a specific role in data collection and report preparation.
• The Treasury: Responsible for the collection and publication of the impact assessment.

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