This year has seen one of the biggest overhauls in insurance law since the introduction of the 1906 Marine Insurance Act, which underpins much of English insurance law. But the jury's out on the impact of the changes.
Lawyers have had to grapple with the looming introduction of the Insurance Contracts Act - which is slated to come into force in 2015 - as well as the Jackson Reforms, which celebrated their first birthday this year.
Our legal survey shows that while lawyers are adapting to these onerous legislative changes, they are also battling to differentiate themselves from the competition in the face of falling legal expenditure.
And the newly introduced Jackson Reforms will offer little respite. The new legislation, which was dubbed the "introduction of procedural fascism" by some, discourages parties from turning to the courts.
The reforms strong-arm warring factions into demonstrating they have taken every reasonable step to settle a dispute before bringing the matter in front of a judge.
Opinion is divided on the motivation behind the reforms. Some see them as a laxative to alleviate a congested and overburdened court system.
The more cynical among us view it as an attempt by the government to exploit London's status as the preferred jurisdiction for litigation - which is borne out by our survey - to maximise tax revenue from legal services.
However, the sluggish nature of the UK court system, which drove through the reforms in the first place, is also likely to affect the time it takes to see the effects of the changes. It could be some time until the true impact of the reforms is felt.
The much-anticipated Insurance Contracts Act has the potential to render almost 100 years of case law null and void.
The bill is set to replace some parts of the Marine Insurance Act. It will also alter the remedies available to insurers if a policyholder submits a fraudulent claim. Although English law has had a reputation for being more (re)insurer-friendly than other jurisdictions, the bill would partially moderate this by moving the duty of disclosure from insurance buyers onto insurers.
The jury is still out on the true significance of these changes. They could still turn insurance law in the UK on its head, or could be nothing more than a storm in a teacup. But if the strength of legal services in the UK has taught us anything, it's that lawyers always win.
To view the responses to IQ's first ever legal survey, please click here
Dan Ascher
Reporter
The Insurance Insider