The JC Guidelines increased the value of PSLA in claims by around 22% in March 2024. While this has had an impact across all claims involving injury it has been interesting to note the changes in low value motor claims.

The change in valuation is particularly pertinent in case just below the £25,000 overall valuation of a motor claim. Claims under the threshold are often dealt with under the MoJ Portal and subsequent Part 8 process and restricted to fixed Portal costs whereas those over the threshold attract more significant costs on an hourly rate if under the Part 7 procedure.

In some cases, firms are withdrawing previously made offers and I suspect consideration is seriously given to moving claims from the MoJ process into the Part 7 procedure to secure a more favourable costs regime. It has certainly been an interesting few months seeing strategic changes in this area.