ENGLAND
Church Times

October 16, 2017

By Madeleine Davies

THREE bishops have sharply criticised the record of Ecclesiastical, the insurance company, over its treatment of abuse survivors on behalf of the Church of England.

In a letter to Mark Hews, the chief executive of the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group (EIG), the bishops condemn “horse trading” between lawyers negotiating settlements for abuse survivors.

The letter was sent after a meeting with a survivor, and calls on the insurer to consider revisiting both past settlements and its overarching approach to claims, questioning, for example, whether fairness should be taking precedence over justice and reconciliation.

The move was welcomed by the survivor, Gilo, also known as “Joe”, who first spoke of “offensive horse trading” years ago, when he was awarded £35,000 in a settlement with the diocese of London (News, 4 December), an experience he described as “demeaning, degrading”. He believes that…