The Association of British Insurers is to introduce a voluntary code of conduct on third-party capture early next year in an effort to appease critics of the controversial practice, it emerged last week.

However, claimant lawyers have dismissed the initiative as a tactic to allow insurers to increase the practice, which involves settling claims directly with motor accident victims who have had a collision with their policyholder, without the victim receiving independent legal advice.

Justin Jacobs, the ABI’s assistant director of motor and liability, told the Motor Accident Solicitors Society’s (MASS) annual conference in London that the code would cover how insurers should contact victims, how to manage the relationship ‘fairly’ and the need to highlight at every stage that the victim is entitled to seek independent legal advice.

‘We want to demonstrate that the standard market practice is not about abusing claimants but about treating them properly,’ he said.

There will be no sanctions for failing to adhere to the code, but Jacobs said he was ‘confident’ that the Financial Services Authority would be ‘very interested’ if an insurer either fails to sign up or does not comply.

MASS chairman John Spencer said a voluntary code fell far short of the proper regulation required, especially as ‘insurers are clearly looking at advertising more aggressively for third-party capture’. He said insurers knew that, without ‘some sort of regulation’ in place first, ‘it will make [claimants] more vulnerable’.

A spokeswoman for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers said a code ‘is simply not going to be enough. It’s not about reassurance – it’s about regulation’.