There had been much speculation surrounding whether or not the MOJ would be ready to launch the new RTA Portal in spring of next year, but it appears the MOJ at least remain optimistic of meeting this deadline.

It had been rumoured that because Civil servants time in the department had largely been spent dealing with pandemic measures and Brexit, there would understandably be further delay. Especially given that the issue of a pre-action protocol was not even brought up as an item at the Civil Procedure Rule Committee meeting in June.

However, following the October meeting the MOJ reconfirmed their plans for the new portal to go live next April. The detail of the CPRC discussions last month has now been published (CPRC October Minutes) and whilst the MOJ are working towards an April 2021 schedule, there remains some key tasks which need to be completed urgently:

“HHJ Bird, confirmed that he could not envisage a situation where the sub-committee would be in a position to recommend approval without seeing all the [portal] screens. As such, there was a significant risk to the current timetable, unless this issue was resolved. The MoJ set out an indicative timetable which provided for the build to be complete before the December meeting.”

Whilst the delays are frustrating, it gives PI Firms time to plan and prepare their business in time for the April changes. A lot of PI firms rely on low value RTA claims for profit and cash flow and without it their whole business model will need to be reconsidered. The portal is designed to handle litigants in person making RTA claims under £5,000, for which legal costs will no longer be recoverable.

No doubt there will be a last minute surge of new low value RTA claims in the New Year, just as there was with the Jackson reforms. However, we at Box Legal are well-placed and fully prepared to deal with any RTA after the event insurance needs you and your clients require.

Here at Box Legal we have been offering after the event legal expense insurance for personal injury claims since 2004 and have a wealth of experience in this field. We have competitively priced ATE insurance policies available for all types of personal injury claims, from standard policies for both low and high value claims, as well as bespoke ATE insurance policies for more complex cases. We can also arrange legal expense insurance cover for non-personal injury claims, including housing disrepair and financial mis-selling claims.

The number and variety of cases we arrange cover for is always increasing and so please contact us to discuss any after the event insurance requirements. We are happy to discuss and develop ATE insurance even for case types we do not already insure.

If you would like to speak to us or obtain further information then please call on 0870 766 997, or email info@boxlegal.co.uk.