Claims Management & Adjusting (CMA) is advocating for the nationwide adoption of a newly developed process designed to speed up access to police reports, aiming to tackle delays in vehicle insurance claim settlements.
The delays have been identified as one of the most significant issues facing the motor insurance industry. To address this, CMA trialled a streamlined police report request process in collaboration with a large constabulary, yielding promising results, it said.
Philip Swift (pictured), technical director at CMA and a former police detective, explained the motivation behind the initiative. “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 blame insurers, who in turn point to red tape and a lack of resources on the law enforcement side,” Swift said.
A news release highlighted that the new approach circumvents traditional bottlenecks by securing the policyholder’s consent for the police to directly share relevant crime reports with CMA during the initial claims process. “At a stroke, it solves several issues. Most importantly, it means faster resolution and reduced inconvenience for customers,” Swift stated.
CMA believes the process offers a more effective alternative to existing methods, such as the Memorandum of Understanding, which Swift argued creates disparities between insurers, and the Subject Access Request method, which can be time-consuming.
The new process is particularly timely, as the industry grapples with an increase in vehicle thefts and a decline in recovery rates. Swift noted. “With thefts up and recoveries down, anything we can do to help our overstretched police forces is surely welcome,” he said. “We have proved this process works and very much hope that others embrace it and make it standard practice nationwide.”
Claims Management & Adjusting Limited (CMA), part of QuestGates, specialises in vehicle-related insurance claims, including theft, collision, and personal injury cases. Founded in 1994, CMA serves major insurers, self-insured clients, solicitors, and brokers across the UK.
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