RELEASE  27 January 2003
EMBARGOED TILL 00.01 HOURS, TUESDAY 28 JANUARY 2003

THE ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH INSURERS AND TRADES UNION CONGRESS CALL FOR A NATIONAL ACTION PLAN TO STEM THE £38 MILLION A DAY COST OF WORKPLACE INJURY AND ILL-HEALTH.

The interests of workers injured or made ill at work is at the heart of a national action plan to revive Britain’s inadequate rehabilitation services, set out today (28 January) by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).  Delays in treatment, lack of resources and a disjointed approach mean that the UK lags behind most other industrialised nations in the help it provides to sick workers.

Making the call at today’s joint ABI/TUC conference on the need to improve rehabilitation, John Parker, the ABI’s Head of General Insurance, said:

“ UK workers, their families, and businesses are all being let down by the failure to provide adequate help to get injured and ill workers get back to full health. Every year 27,000 workers leave the workplace due to illness caused by work never to return. This is a shocking waste of human resources, and must be reduced.

“ Putting the claimants interests first, a clear lead from Government, and making a solid business case for rehabilitation are at the heart of our call for a national action plan to deliver better and faster rehabilitation services. Insurers have done much to embrace rehabilitation, but, in this complex area, more needs to be done by all interested stakeholders. The results of the recently completed ABI/TUC consultation exercise show a consensus for change, which must now be built on to bring about long lasting improvements which workers and business urgently need.”

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TUC General Secretary elect Brendan Barber said:

“ When William Beveridge mapped out the welfare state over sixty years ago, he planned a national rehabilitation service, and that’s an idea that certainly has not reached its retirement age! Working in partnership, we can use the legal and insurance systems to offer a fast- track  back into work, not a slow exit from the workforce. Unions want Government to lead on this issue- decisively and coherently- and we will play our part with employers and insurers. “
                                                                                                     
The three key elements of the action plan are:

- Putting the claimants interests first. There needs to be a shift from focussing solely on damages to getting the claimant back to health as soon as possible. The adversial elements of the current tort system should be replaced where possible with a partnership approach to reduce the delays that can occur in getting the injured person referred for treatment as soon as possible.

- Engage with Government. Building a sustainable rehabilitation infrastructure is vital. The Government can play a key role in coordinating and promoting rehabilitation services. Proposals in the recent Green Paper, Pathways to Work, show that insurers and Government share much common ground.

- Making a solid business case for rehabilitation. The ABI will soon be undertaking research to provide employers, unions, and insurers with an objective cost/benefit analysis for having rehabilitation programmes.
       
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Notes for Editors

1 As an example of rehabilitation services provided by insurers, one of the UK’s largest commercial lines insurers formed a specialist medical rehabilitation company to assess its medical cases. Staffed by qualified medical practitioners, its primary concern is to help the injured person recover, and help them return to work.
2 Further enquiries to:   ABI -   Malcolm Tarling   020 7216 7410
                                                                              ( mobile 07776 147667 )
                                                           Leonie Edwards  020 7216 7411  
                                            
                                               TUC -  Liz Chinchen  020 7467 1388
                                                           Owen Tudor    07788 715261 (mobile),       
                                                                                    otudor@tuc.org.uk        
 
          
                              
3 An ISDN line is available for broadcasts.

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Copies of all ABI news releases, together with other information from the Association, can be seen on our website http://www.abi.org.uk

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