New report process aims to cut motor claims delays and ease police pressures

Specialist motor insurance loss adjuster Claims Management and Adjusting (CMA) has introduced a proposition to reduce motor claims delays.

The new proposition involves helping insurers get quicker access to police reports, a key factor in expediting claim settlements for theft and collision cases.

Traditionally, insurers have struggled to access such reports due to complex data protection concerns or refusal to disclose.

However, the CMA’s approach involves securing the policyholder’s consent to obtain the crime report as part of the initial claims procedure.

The CMA believes this will help simplify the interaction between insurers and law enforcement.

Philip Swift, technical director at CMA, said: “As an increasing number of car owners will testify, time from loss to pay-out has been slipping on many theft and collision claims.

“The public understandably blames insurers, who in turn, point to red tape and a lack of resources on the law enforcement side.

“To address this, we adopted a new approach which has proved remarkably effective at unblocking the bottleneck – a winner for insurers, the police and policyholders.”

Trial

CMA is rolling out the proposition after trialling it with one constabulary.

The firm also believes that the new process will help reduce the burden on overstretched police forces.

Swift said: “With thefts up and recoveries down, anything we can do to help our overstretched police forces is surely welcome.

“We have proved this process works and very much hope that others embrace it and make it standard practice nationwide.”