Personal Injury Claims at Hastings Direct

We receive calls from our customers at what can be one of the most stressful situations a driver can face. To make sure our customers are aware of how their claim is progressing at all times, we recruit team members with excellent people skills. A key part of the job is empathising with the situation and provide transparent communications.

All Personal Injury (PI) colleagues also hold rich technical skills which are used to assess and validate claims, ensuring fairness for our customers while settling the right claims at the correct amount. To do this, we work with a wealth of stakeholders, including our colleagues in other teams at Hastings, panel solicitors, investigators and medical experts.

We continue to develop a range of varied indemnity saving, technical development and data led strategies that contribute toward our goal of being best in class and leading in the industry.

How we work

By developing our talented colleagues, we’re able to enhance the skills of excellent negotiators and expose them to higher claims values, a range of complex injuries or scenarios, and the opportunity to achieve greater indemnity savings. Making sure we maintain the quality of our work means we can make the right decisions at minimal costs.

We are fortunate to work closely with experts in varying fields such as solicitors and investigators, who also contribute toward our continuously developing market leading strategies. Our PI department is made up of the Body Injury Unit, Technical Claims Unit (TCU) and Large and Complex Loss teams. We have a collaborative approach with a clear referral process to link the three units together, something which also supports individuals’ development.

Our dedicated coaching team provide vital support and colleagues are encouraged to reach out and shadow colleagues across the wider team to support their desired development. Colleagues also have the opportunity to enrol on apprenticeships such as CII certification, as well as support with further education such as obtaining qualifications externally whilst on the job.

We offer a hybrid working approach to maximise collaboration and development, with the work-life flexibility that colleagues need.

Where our teams are based

Not all of our teams operate from all of our offices. Below you can see the offices in which these teams are based.

Meet some of the team

Ashley, Technical Negotiator

Having started in FNOL, I swiftly moved into Customer Claims in a more senior role and before becoming a third party claims handler. I then enrolled as a Bodily Injury handler in 2018 and for the last year I have been a part of the Technical Claims Unit (TCU) team. I currently have a mixed case load of non-jurisdiction claims, MOJ, Fast Track and Multi-track cases. I really enjoy the variety of my work and the different tactics and negotiations that come from each different area of injury claims. Our framework in TCU allows me to keep cases that are over my authority on a referral basis, which allows me to continue my growth and development at Hastings Direct.

Emma, Large and Complex Loss Handler

I joined the Large and Complex Loss team at Hastings in February 2021. Despite joining remotely due to the pandemic, my colleagues made me feel welcome and onboarding was a smooth process. Since joining Hastings, my claims portfolio has grown and the leaders have encouraged my personal development. For example, approximately 20% of my portfolio are ‘development’ claims, valued over my financial authority and I am shadowing the Head of Large and Complex Loss on a claim that is reserved at £10 million. I look forward to continuing to develop with the support of my team.

David, Large and Complex Loss Handler

I joined the business in September 2016, coming into the MOJ area, dealing with injury claims up to a value of £5,000. I progressed quite quickly, developing my knowledge and handling capabilities before being successful in an application to join the Technical Coaching Team in May 2018.

This allowed me to continue my technical development, whilst also honing other skills, before I moved to the TCU team. Despite the challenge of working solely from home shortly after starting, I was able to maintain my development trajectory, working with senior handlers in TCU and members of the Large Loss team, before becoming successful in an application to join the Large Loss team in May 2022, dealing with claims valued at more than £100k.

I like working at Hastings Direct because the business is full of great people, and I’ve always found that development opportunities are available if you have the drive and determination to take them.