Published 12 November 2026
The fourth set of regulations for the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme became law on 24 July 2026. We built these new rules into our service for core claims on 1 October 2026.
Since then, we have checked all claims paid before 1 October 2026 against the information we hold. There were 3,722 claims in total.
We are going to contact everyone who was previously paid to explain what this means for you. You do not need to do anything right now.
When we’re contacting you
We expect to contact everyone who has been previously paid by the end of the day on 16 November 2026.
We will use the method you have told us you prefer. This could be email, phone or post. Most people will receive this by automated email.
If you have asked us to contact you by post, your letter may arrive slightly later. If we cannot reach you by phone, we will try again or write to you.
What we’ll tell you
We will tell you that the information we currently hold shows either:
- we may owe you or the estate of a deceased infected person more money
- there is no change to you or the estate’s compensation that we are aware of
We will also explain how to give us more information or disagree with the information we currently hold.
This only covers core claims, not the supplementary route.
The changes to the supplementary route includes:
- expanded unethical research provisions
- a new exceptional financial loss award for lost earning capacity
- the addition of chronic qualifying hepatitis conditions to the recognised severe health conditions
We aim to begin supplementary claims from April 2027. We’ll share more information about supplementary claims in our community update and other channels in the coming months.
What happens next
After we have contacted everyone, we will begin working through claims whose information shows that we may owe them or the estate more money. We will also look at information from anyone who feels their outcome is not right.
We will start with the information you have already given us. If we need more information to support your claim, we will consider the best and quickest way to retrieve this. The team will work with you and other sources, such as the NHS or your solicitor if you have one, to get any information we need.
Being told we may owe you more money is the first step. It does not always mean you will receive more compensation. We will make sure everyone who is eligible gets the compensation they are owed.
We want to get this right for everyone. When we first opened the service, we started with a small number of claims and built up from there. We are doing the same now. We are bringing in different types of claims first, so we can learn from as many situations as possible. This will help us bring in claims more quickly in the long run.
This means we cannot give you an exact date for when we will bring you back into the service right now. Our goal is to complete the bulk of these claims by 31 March 2027. We will keep you updated on our progress through our usual channels.
How we’re processing claims
Why we are working through claims in stages
We have worked through the fourth regulations in the following stages:
- we built the new rules into the service from 1 October
- we checked all claims paid before that date against the information we already hold
- we are now telling everyone what we found
- we will start bringing people we’ve identified back into the service
Some of you asked why we did not start bringing in all previously paid claims as soon as the regulations came into force. This may seem slower, but it is the quickest way to help the most people.
When we began building the service, we did not know what the regulations would say. Now the regulations are set, we have been able to look at the information many of you gave us in your first claim.
For many people, this shows you are highly likely to be entitled to more compensation under the fourth regulations.
By looking at these claims first, we can start work on them straight away while limiting the impact on people who are not eligible. At the same time, we are continuing to look more closely at other claims.
Why your claim manager has changed
We want any updates to your claim to be processed as quickly as possible while continuing to bring in new claims and progressing those already underway. To do that, we have a dedicated team to carry out the work.
Your previous claim manager may now be supporting people with new claims, or may have moved on to a new role. Waiting for them could mean waiting longer for your claim to move forward.
Your new claim manager has access to all the information you have already given us. They will not ask you to go over it again unless you would like to.
We know that telling your story again can be painful, and we are sorry for any worry this change causes. If there is anything you want us to know or update, you can tell your new claim manager at any time.
Support available to you
If you come back into the service, you can keep using the same support services as before. This includes independent legal and financial support paid for by IBCA, as well as free psychological services. You can find all the support available to you on our help and support page.