CRU claims data – stagnant levels rule out post-COVID bounce back

On 19 May 2023, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), published its annual performance data of claims registered to the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU).

The report revealed that new claim registrations for employers’ liability (EL) and public liability (PL) were at virtually identical levels to last year (April 2021 to March 2022).

The data 

There were 43,728 registered EL claims for the period April 2022 to March 2023 compared to 43,769 for 2021 ( variance -0.1%) and 53,403 registered PL claims with the Compensation Recovery Unit compared to 52,724 for the previous year ( variance + 1%).

2022/2023 levels showed respective reductions of 45 % (EL) and 27 % (PL), compared to pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019/2020.

Commentary 

The CRU data shows a marked similarity with the monthly data released by the Claims Portal Company which captures claims allocated to the Fast Track and not all personal Injury claims registered with the CRU.

To place this in historical context, 2022/2023 EL and PL claims levels are 42 % (EL) and 52 % (PL) of levels seen in the year of peak notifications (2013/2014) which saw a combined total of over 208,000 EL and PL claims registered.

This year’s figures are the first measured since 2019/2020 to be unencumbered by any pandemic-related factors. They also remain consistent with the previous year’s figures – strong indications that present levels are likely to endure and the much vaunted “bounce back” is unlikely to eventuate.

More broadly, both CRU and Portal data demonstrate that the underlying trend of personal injury claims remains downward -  representative of a “safer society”, increased working from home and an end to the so called “compensation culture” – arguably evident in the previous decade.