Durham-based injury firm winning claim game

Nov 25 2009 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

A MEDICAL claim-handling firm saw sales rise by £4m last year as it maintained its speedy growth, which has seen annual turnover increase to £12m since its launch in 2003.

And Durham-based UK Independent Medical (UKIM) expects this rapid growth to continue, with staff numbers slated to rise from 80 to 110 by 2011 and sales expected to increase to around £16m in the same period.

Changes to the law 10 years ago, which opened up the personal injury claims processing market, has seen UKIM grow to be the UK’s fifth largest, handling 40,000 claims per year.

It is now set to double its floorspace on Durham’s Belmont Business Park, from 5,000sqft to 10,000sqft, to accommodate future development.

UKIM managing director Ian Medforth said: “Our volumes are increasing year on year and we expect that growth to continue.

“One of our strengths is that we have a real focus on providing a first-rate service.

“This is a high volume, low-margin business, and providing the best service is key to what we do.

“We have continually met or exceeded our growth projections, with sales for 2009 expected to be £16m, up from 2008’s £12m, and we expect that to continue over the next two years.

“By 2011, we should be achieving sales of £16m and I would expect us to be employing around a further 30 staff.”

UKIM handles about 5% of the 700,000 personal injury claims every year in the UK, so there is lots of scope for further penetration into a growing market place. The firm is also providing additional legal services such as cost recovery and transferring legal paperwork into electronic platforms such as CDs.

Last year’s sales saw the company achieve a seven-figure profit, and Mr Medforth expects these margin levels to hold up.

The company currently processes the medical work on personal injury for around 250 solicitors across England and Wales, with claims following car accidents accounting for 80% of all personal injury claims.