Codes of practice for civil CSA claims
IICSA · Accountability and Reparations Investigation Report · Issued 19 September 2019 · Addressed to: Association of British Insurers
Government responseAssociation of British Insurers: Accepted (Aug 2021)
DeliveryNo statement from Association of British Insurers found
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, G
The Local Government Association and the Association of British Insurers should each produce codes of practice for responding to civil claims of child sexual abuse. The codes should include recognition of the long-term emotional and psychiatric or psychological effects of child sexual abuse on victims and survivors, and acknowledgement that these effects may make it difficult for victims and survivors to disclose that they have been sexually abused and to initiate civil claims for that abuse. The codes should also include guidance that: 1. claimants should be treated sensitively throughout the litigation process; 2. the defence of limitation should only be used in exceptional circumstances; 3. single experts jointly instructed by both parties should be considered for the assessment of the claimants' psychiatric, psychological or physical injuries; and 4. wherever possible, claimants should be offered apologies, acknowledgement, redress and support.
IICSA, Accountability and Reparations Investigation Report · 19 Sep 2019 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
In August 2021, the Association of British Insurers published a code of practice for responding to civil claims of child sexual abuse, stating that the guidance was produced to improve aspects of the civil claims process within insurers' control, including approaches to limitation, apologies, and the use of confidentiality agreements (Association of British Insurers response, Aug 2021). The record holds no update since the Association of British Insurers' response of August 2021 (Association of British Insurers response, Aug 2021).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.
Government response
●Association of British Insurers · Accepted · 1 Aug 2021
This ABI Code of Practice: Responding to Civil Claims of Child Sexual Abuse has been produced with the aim of improving certain aspects of the civil claims process that are within insurers’ control for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. It addresses issues identified by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in its Accountability and Reparations Investigation Report, including insurers’ approaches to limitation (the law requiring that certain civil claims, including child sexual abuse claims, must be brought within three years of the incident or three years from the date the claimant turns the age of 18) and apologies, and also other areas of the civil claims process that may have caused distress for victims and survivors, including the use of confidentiality agreements.
Response document: ABI Code of Practice - Responding to Civil Claims of Child Sexual Abuse
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Association of British Insurers has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.