You can read the full article here.

This was denied by Kevin Westall, head of civil policy and customer intelligence at the Ministry of Justice, who told the Claims Standards Council (CSC) annual conference in Manchester that the MoJ will monitor the data for trends rather than target individual firms, but will ‘move very quickly’ to stop any firms abusing the system.

The new RTA claims process, for claims between £1,000 and £10,000, is now scheduled to go live on 30 April, not 6 April as had been expected.

The MoJ said the start date is being deferred ‘to allow users to make the necessary changes to their own internal case management systems’. The new process is being brought in at the behest of the MoJ to speed up claims and make the claims process cheaper. As part of the new process, the insurance industry has set up an electronic portal for the transfer of claims data, which the MoJ required be secure.

Westall said that stakeholders will shortly be consulted about what information may or may not be gleaned from the portal.

David Bott (pictured), managing partner at Cheshire specialist personal injury firm Bott & Co, said: ‘It’s a bit Big Brother. Everything going through the portal will be logged. The MoJ and the insurers will have a lot of data on us. It’s not clear as to what happens with regard to a transgressor, but you shouldn’t look at making short-term gains.’

Westall said: ‘We were pressed by stakeholders to monitor the process effectively. The MoJ is looking primarily at trends rather than targeting individual firms.’ Westall added that individual firms will be questioned if the data show anomalies in their practices, while insurers will be questioned if trends in the data show a decline in damages payouts. ‘If we see that, we will move very quickly to stop it,’ he said.

We’re really pleased to announce that we are now able to offer new technology that will give personal injury claim handlers a much improved online experience.

The easy-to-use Rapid RTA software solution, developed in-house here at Bott in collaboration with specialist legal systems integrators Zylpha Ltd, will integrate the Solcase and Visualfiles case management systems with the new Ministry of Justice (MoJ) process reforms portal.

The bottom line for claim handlers is that the new technology will facilitate much faster electronic exchange of relevant documentation, making the whole process considerably quicker and smoother than it currently is.

We see integration with the MoJ portal as essential if we’re to maintain our high levels of productivity and efficiency, and we’re also sure it will help to differentiate us from the rest of the personal injury claimant market in a tightening market.

The Rapid RTA solution, which comes hot on the heels of our innovative iPhone application, demonstrates our commitment to using the latest technology to offer the very best service.

Click here to read the full press release about the Rapid RTA technology

Top 10 Strategies for SME’s to Implement in 2010

Everyday on the web there is a new trend to contend with and trying to keep up can be enough to make your head spin. Most businesses will be asking themselves how they can stay ahead of the game without devoting every waking moment to studying these trends. Ultimately, the success of your business’ online activities will come down to making the most of these new developments; through driving customers to your website as well as optimising their experience whilst on your website.

Top 10 web strategies for SMEs to implement in 2010:

1. Hear your user’s voice - Have you actually ever sat with your customer base and tested your website? Have you asked them what they want or even expect? Have you conducted A/B tests to find out if changing a design or text improves conversions?

It is essential to engage customers and potential customers in quantitative and qualitative studies to brainstorm the flow and features you should be including. By utilising analytics tools such as ClickTale, Google Intelligence, Google Website Optimiser to feedback tools such as GetSatisfaction or UserVoice you can learn more about your customer base.

2. Information Overloading - Don’t bombard your user with irrelevant information. Plan your information design to be concise and to the point with well structured headings and grid/column systems to ensure that text is easier to digest. It is critical that typography is utilised effectively. Remember, what is beautiful is usable.

3. AJAX for better usability - By utilising AJAX (asynchronous Javascript and XML) to build more intuitive user interfaces to help your user’s journey become easier and more pleasurable. By implementing an intelligent 1-step checkout using such coding techniques which are now becoming commonplace you can increase conversion rates.

4. Social Community – Engage the community into your website to encourage interaction between users and your brand. Features such as user ratings and reviews, public wish lists and ‘Other customers also bought this’ are key facets to the Amazon success story.

5. Mobile versions – As smart phones such as Blackberrys and iPhones become ever more ubiquitous, the importance of making a mobile friendly version of your website grows.

6. Stay on the ball – Keep up to date with what is going on and let your customers know that you are on top of things. A perfect example of this is the speed in which big web brands such as Play, Amazon and ASOS reacted to the impending postal strikes last December (2009) by immediately adding prominent notices on their website to assure customers that it would not affect delivery times. As soon as snow had settled on the ground early this January, B&Q were already featuring offers for users purchasing online who could not reach their stores because of the treacherous weather.

7. Expanding into applications - By creating applications that would useful to your customers, you can create a buzz surrounding your brand particularly if you are a first mover within your industry. An example of this is the controversial but successful iPhone app that Bott & Co Solicitors introduced in December 2009, for people to record all necessary details of car accident or personal injury in order to process a claim with them at a later date.

8. Videos on your website - Some would argue that nobody has time to read all of the benefits of your product or service, no matter how great they are. By creating bite-size videos describing the key features of your product or service in way that is entertaining, engaging and effective. From the catwalk style videos on ASOS to the way in which Ad Agency Boone Oakley transformed their website into a video, it is clear to see that clever use of video will gain an even stronger foothold in 2010.

9. Admin friendly systems – Help your staff to become more efficient with smarter backend systems that automate as much of the leg-work of managing your e-commerce website as possible.

10. Don’t let SEO ruin your website – There is an often-cited mantra amongst search engine marketers; optimise for the user first and for the search engines second. By creating unique, useful and relevant content to enhance your website’s user experience, you will be doing yourself more favours than simply keyword stuffing. Of course you should get the basics right such as having well optimised title and meta data along with placing the right keywords within your content. Producing specifically targeted micro-websites for certain products or services is a recommended strategy. This enables you to be more optimised for particular phrases surrounding these products or services.

Above all, all small businesses must ensure that they have a professional digital or marketing agency with expertise in the latest web trends who understands your business needs.

You are able to take photographs of the accident scene using the iPhone’s integrated camera, record your current location using the iPhone’s GPS capabilities and store relevant information in relation to your accident. Finally, once you have completed the necessary information you can submit your details via email to Bott & Co, who will review your claim and contact you within 24 hours of submission. If the accident was not your fault your dedicated personal injury solicitor will assist in the formulation of a claim for personal injury. The application also includes other tools, including an updateable contacts page that provides you with useful links to call or visit websites of fleet operators, road side assistant operators and healthcare professionals.
It can be downloaded from the iTunes Store and you might also want to watch this clip www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhyMkpXIMnk

Source: http://www.theorangerag.com/blog/_archives/2009/12/4/4396721.html

Would be claimants will get instant access to a personal injury solicitor if they have been involved in an accident with the ‘Car Incident Assistant’ application.

The application assists a claimant to collect all necessary information, allowing individuals to collect people and vehicle information, capture location details, take photographs of the accident and accumulate any witness or accident information. All this relies on the user being conscious with a prang free iPhone.Once Bott & Co have been instructed via the iPhone application, ‘Car Incident Assistant’ also allows claimants to track their case online and will arrange appointments for any medical reports or rehabilitation and send text up dates and reminders.

Available from the Apple iTunes App Store, ‘Car Incident Assistant’ is free and requires the iPhone 3.0 Software Update or later.

Source: Macworld

Personal injury specialists Bott & Co launched the free ap to help claimants log all the information required at the scene of the accident in case they want to make a claim against another driver.

The programme prompts the driver to take photos of the scene using the iPhone’s built-in camera and to log details such as the location, driver’s details and more.

All the information is then emailed to Bott & Co, where it is assessed for free by a personal injury lawyer, who will reply within 24 hours to confirm whether or not there is the potential for a claim.

Source: Manchester Evening News

 The Car Accident Assistant, which will be made available via iTunes, connects claimants to the firm’s 24 hour accident help system and downloads accident advice to the iPhone handset.

The tool also allows a claimant to collect information on the vehicles, location, take photographs of the accident and accumulate any witness or accident information through a full multi media set of applications.

Commenting on the applications, David Bott, managing partner of Bott & Co said: “The advice a potential claimant gets is free, if they then want to proceed with a claim we will then process the claim and look after the damaged vehicle and even ensure the accident victim can get home.”

He added: “It’s all about customer service and we feel this application gives any accident victim instant comfort that someone is looking after them. We are in talks with a number of interested insurers who see this as a valuable customer service application for their policy holders.”

Source - postonline

Downtime believes that if iPhone users stopped rubbing their finger up and down the screen, they’d see where they were going, and avoid any accidents.

Source: Computer Weekly

It appears ambulance chasing has gone digital after Bott & Company, a law firm in Manchester that specialises in personal injury claims, has developed an application for the iPhone that prompts people involved in an accident to record insurance and witness details, take multiple photographs, store GPS information and click through to a dedicated hotline to lodge a claim.

The solicitors believe it is the first time such an application has been launched. It is a free download and walks the user through what they should do if they are involved in an accident.

“It may not be the first thing you think of in an accident but everyone has got a camera on their phone,” said Paul Hinchcliffe, practice manager at Bott & Company, who said someone has already had a claim made via the application.

Source: The Times