CLAIMS
What is your favourite part of the role? Anon: The insight into our members’ lives and the challenges they face – and believing that what we do can make a positive difference to the outcome of some of the harsher aspects of our officers’ experiences. KS: Providing the support that we do. I don’t think there’s an insurance policy that could match what Federation membership provides for its subscribing members.
KELLY STANLEY – CIVIL CLAIMS MANAGER – AND AN ANONYMOUS CIVIL CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR
Tell us a little bit about your role – what does a standard day look like? Anon: We assess and triage Personal Injury, Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), Legal Advice, Police Medical Appeals Board (PMAB)/injury awards, pension, and employment applications received to ensure that they are completed correctly, and they contain the necessary documentation to support the member’s claim. Once this has been established, we will either process the matter independently or forward it to a senior decision-maker to gain a funding decision and determine the next steps. We work to a rota system based on various duties required in the department. Each duty requires us to assess the incoming information and respond to the author directly, or refer the matter to one of our claims advisors or senior management for their authorisation on funding or further instructions. KS: I receive new file applications to review, funding decisions on live cases, and all complaints, and I provide assistance to Heads of Departments (HOD), claims advisors, and administrators on claims processing. I attend meetings with In-House Legal (IHL), panel firms, and the team regarding live files. I review
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service delivery from panel firms, panel firm engagement, and onboarding, record budgets for cases, assist in cost negotiations, and oversee high profile/ high-cost cases.
How does your role fit into the wider department? Anon: We are the first point of contact for branches and solicitors. We report to the claims manager and work with our four claims advisors, who are all ex-police officers and federation representatives, as well as IHL and Ill Health Retirement Advisors (IHR). In certain high profile or sensitive cases, we liaise with the Head of
Why is the Civil/Criminal claims team important? Anon: When things go wrong, it is important that our members have somewhere to obtain sound legal advice on whether they have a valid claim, and whether it has prospects of success, and to have expert legal representation to support them through the process. Our Civil Claims team has more than 75 years of combined service to support our members’, and that dedication, along with the experience, is vital to ensuring our member’s claims are understood and supported in the best way possible. KS: Firstly, we want to help. Whether that’s via legal support or advice for branches or reps, we are here to provide that assistance. While we support cases against a set funding criteria, we review each case individually and if we can support you, or there are wider membership issues involved, we will do all we can to assist.
“We can make a positive difference to the outcome of some of the harsher aspects of our officers’ experiences”
Civil Claims. KS: It’s a very busy department, but my main role is to support the HOD with high profile and sensitive cases, including panel firm management. I deal with all complaints and directly line-manage the claims administrators.
How many cases do you look after in an average month? Anon: We average around 250 new cases a month. With the addition of emails, portal updates, and invoicing on live cases, we receive around 120 individual sets of communication daily – it’s extremely busy.
Is there anything you would like the readers and members to know about claims? Anon: We are here to help. If a member believes they have a case, the best thing they can do is submit an application, including all the details on the application itself, and attaching all supporting documentation. If documents are
in a format that our content management system does not support, or there is difficulty uploading, speak to the branch, so IT services can be contacted to ensure the necessary information is included at the outset. This ensures that claims are not rejected or delayed unnecessarily. This is particularly important for employment tribunal claims where IHL requires 28 days to produce a report, but this will be held back if the supporting information is not provided. KS: Federation membership covers family members in relation to personal injury claims.
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