Type UK public company Area served United Kingdom Parent organization NAHL Group | Founded 1993 | |
 | ||
Services No win no fee personal injury claims Website www.national-accident-helpline.co.uk Founders Paul Follett, Alan Kennedy Profiles | ||
National accident helpline injured at work advert
National Accident Helpline is a UK-based personal injury company providing personal injury claims advice, service and support to consumers who have suffered a no-fault accident.
Contents
- National accident helpline injured at work advert
- National accident helpline most experienced company advert
- History
- Specialist claims websites
- Marketing
- Stance against cold calling
- Ethical Marketing Charter
- Adverts
- Charity partnerships
- References
National Accident Helpline is part of the NAHL Group PLC and is run on a for-profit basis.
NAHL and its panel of solicitors process compensation claims on a no win no fee agreement, removing the financial risk from making a claim. Any solicitor fees are then taken from a claimant's compensation if they win.
National accident helpline most experienced company advert
History
The National Accident Helpline was formed in 1993 by two businessmen, Alan Kennedy and Paul Follett, along with the Northampton legal firm Tollers. In 2006, Lloyds TSB Development Capital (LDC), the private equity arm of the Lloyds TSB Group, backed a management buyout enabling Kennedy to buy out Tollers and other shareholders. LDC later sold part of its stake to Inflexion Private Equity.
In April 2008, National Accident Helpline released an SMS callback service on a platform provided by SMSshortcode.co.uk.
The following month, the personal injury claims management company revealed a new version of the company website, featuring an interactive no win no fee compensation calculator.
February 2009 saw National Accident Helpline listed in the Sunday Times Deloitte Buyout Track 100 for the first time. In 2012, the company was listed in 70th place with year-on-year growth from 2010/11 to 2011/12 cited as 32%.
Specialist claims websites
National Accident Helpline also owns no-win-no-fee.co.uk and Benchmark Insurance. In 2010 it started advertising through underdog.co.uk.
In April 2010, National Accident Helpline published three new specialist claims websites: industrial-accident.co.uk, work-accident.co.uk and clinical-medical-negligence.co.uk.
In October 2011, the company announced mobile-friendly versions of its two core websites, National Accident Helpline and underdog.co.uk.
Marketing
National Accident Helpline initially found its clients by advertising in the press. It was then one of the first claims companies to use television advertising, and this became its main source of business in the 2000s.
The company's television adverts have been one of its most visible sources of marketing. The adverts feature a character called Underdog, who is voiced by UK actor Joe Pasquale. More recent adverts have included musical backing tracks, including Chumbawamba's 1997 hit "Tubthumping" and a version of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" where the chorus lyrics had been changed to include the brand name.
Stance against cold calling
National Accident Helpline displays a clear policy against cold calling, cold texting and nuisance marketing on its website.
National Accident Helpline has never cold called and in December 2014 the personal injury advice service confirmed it would no longer be contacting prospective customers by email.
The firm states that any incident of cold-calling under its name has no connection with the real National Accident Helpline. It also asks victims of cold calling to report any incidents where the victim has been contacted by imposters posing as National Accident Helpline.
Ethical Marketing Charter
In July 2015, National Accident Helpline founded the Ethical Marketing Charter alongside seven other personal injury firms. By November 2016, the total number of signatories stood at over 50 firms.
The Ethical Marketing Charter encourages companies in the personal injury sector to stand against cold calling and spam marketing by signing up to a series of commitments against nuisance marketing practices.
National Accident Helpline also recently published findings on the impact of cold calling on the UK economy.
Adverts
Since 2010 adverts for National Accident Helpline feature a dog known as Underdog (voiced by Joe Pasquale) trying to get compensation from an unseen man (voiced by Brian Blessed) who rejects him. Underdog then says he will go to National Accident Helpline instead; the unseen man tries to convince him to go to him instead, which Underdog refuses.
Charity partnerships
National Accident Helpline has been involved in a number of charity partnerships.
It was announced in April 2014 that National Accident Helpline's new company charity was The Air Ambulance Service
The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT), a member of The Disabilities Trust, was the company's charity for the year 2010-2011.
National Accident Helpline's employees have also been involved in a number of charity ventures. A team of four senior employees ran the 2010 London Marathon in aid of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, raising over £6000. Staff have also raised money for BIRT.