Law firm posts £1.9m profit for 2018

Wakefield-based Minster Law has reported a £1.9m profit for 2018 (2017: -£2.6m) on turnover of £35.1m (2017: £36.0m).

Chief executive officer Shirley Woolham said the result within the firm’s annual report and accounts was a “tremendous achievement in tough trading conditions.”

She added the firm, which currently specialises in personal injury, delivered nearly 5% improvement in gross profit margin to 36.1% (2017: 31.8%).

She said: “Improving operational efficiency and scalability was a key achievement last year and is a direct result of our investment in IT, automation and digital claims.

“This has been a top priority as we prepare for the post-reform world in personal injury, where margins will be thinner and most volume claims will be processed online.

“Our results are also supported by a 21% reduction in administration costs, driven mainly by our consolidation into a single HQ in Wakefield.

“Minster Law is an efficient, debt-free business with an ambitious strategy. We’re well positioned to accelerate our competitiveness in the market, further invest in digital capability, pursue acquisition opportunities and diversify into new revenue streams beyond personal injury.

“We maintained a relentless focus on achieving great outcomes for our customers, so I’m pleased to report that within the year we secured over £130m worth of damages on their behalf.”

Looking ahead, she said the firm, which employs about 470 people, plans to create a broader legal services business to meet the needs of insurers and brokers in the 2020s. She noted that might include acquisitions where they make strategic sense.

She added her other priority includes seeking out and signing partnerships with suppliers that have market-leading expertise in areas that complement Minster Law’s specialisms.

Woolham cited Minster Law’s recent tie-up with Plantec  (part of Kindertons Accident Management), to provide a specialist claims service for Principal Insurance’s motorbike customers, as an example of cooperation with partners across different claims disciplines to provide outstanding service for insurer clients.

She said: “Minster Law will continue its evolution into a tech-enabled, highly efficient consumer support business. We are proud of our strong heritage in personal injury law, but are able to offer a much broader range of propositions for insurer and broker partners, including entry into the legal expenses insurance (LEI) market through our Coral Insurance business.

“We see a real opportunity to shake up the LEI market, which needs an injection of new ideas to help customers deal with the impact of the personal injury reforms.

“There will be more demand for legal expenses cover and insurers and brokers will need a more sophisticated solution that really works for customers.

“LEI is a much-misunderstood insurance product in the eyes of the public, so our aim is ensuring customers understand what they’re buying and it gives them confidence that they have the protection they need.

“Our PI and claims processing expertise gives us pricing and risk assessment advantages which will attract insurers and brokers seeking a stable, competitive rating approach and capacity providers in search of profitable underwriting.

“We intend to combine distribution and administration through Coral and draw on our claims processing expertise to accurately assess underlying claims costs and performance to provide profitable and stable returns for our capacity provider.”

Woolham said she expected to make a further announcement in due course, adding: “We are in advanced development stages, but I am confident our portfolio of products will continue to be a compelling offer for customers, and for insurer and broker partners.”

She said a Government plan to move small personal injury claims online was sensible, but the development of the online portal has been dogged by Government secrecy and distrust between the various stakeholders, with a high risk of customer detriment following implementation in 2020.

“The point is that we are all in this [the post reform world] together,” she said. “Nobody wants to see injured customers fending for themselves, or giving up and living with the consequences of injury.

“It is incumbent on the Ministry of Justice to bring the claimant sector into the process and work with us and our insurer colleagues to resolve the multiplicity of problems emerging.

“Customers must be confident the small claims track portal works for them. We all want to share in the success of the platform and deliver a great service to customers, but customers’ interests must be at the heart of the programme.

“Our own investment in digital support for customers has underlined the vital future role digital will play in delivering low cost access to justice. To get it right, however, has taken us several years of effort and investment, including rigorous customer-testing. The lesson for the Government’s LiP portal is: don’t foist it on the public until it is ready.

“The portal must be exceptional in respect of the user experience and claimant journey to ensure it does not serve as a barrier to claimants who are time-poor or less confident in using online services.

“Access to justice is a right, not a privilege, but these rights are threatened by Government cuts and a pernicious view that making a claim when things go wrong is somehow socially unacceptable.

“It is not. It is OK to make a claim and Minster Law is proud to be there to make sure our customers get help and protection when they need it.”