The Ministry of Justice seems to be suffering from amnesia in relation to the road traffic accident portal negotiations (see ‘Change to RTA portal legal fees’.

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers was closely involved in the negotiations and we can confirm that the issue of referral fees had no part in the ultimate outcome. Many firms using the portal do not even pay referral fees, but incur marketing costs as overheads instead.

The figures were, in fact, based on a combination of hourly rates and the time needed to deal with cases in the portal. The final figures were the result of an agreement between the parties, including, of course, the insurers.

What never seems to be mentioned though is that, although still really in its early days, the RTA claims process is working well enough for insurers to be able to say they are already making savings on cases which go through the system. So the real question is: why are premiums not coming down?

Deborah Evans, chief executive, Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, Nottingham