Cutting the cost of at-fault incidents
Data collated by FMG shows an increasing number of fleet operators, insurance companies and brokers are turning to outsourced claims handling experts to help in controlling third party claim costs following at-fault incidents.
The data, collated over the past 18 months, shows a 140% increase in demand for FMG’s in-house third party claims services and highlights average savings of well over £1000 per captured claim.
FMG say that early intervention is crucial to mitigating costs for the at-fault party and urge drivers to report incidents immediately following an incident if it is safe to do so. This significantly reduces the risk of the third party pursuing or being approached by potentially expensive hire car companies, credit repair services and personal injury businesses.
‘We endeavour to contact the third party within the hour, to offer our vehicle repair and replacement services and then closely monitor every process and cost throughout the life of the claim. This removes the financial vulnerability for the at-fault party.’ said Mark Chessman, FMG’s managing director for operations.
Major insurers are now outsourcing their Third Party Management services to FMG, as a result of the cost savings and high quality services. Whilst committed to limiting their customers’ losses, FMG ensure all parties are treated fairly and the third party are kept on the road.
‘We ensure the third party is not out-of-pocket at any stage following an incident which wasn’t their fault. We arrange a quality repair by our independently-audited repair network with a sensible replacement vehicle, various one-day repair solutions or cash-in-lieu payments,’ explained Mark.
When the Third Party can’t be captured, claims handling experts protect their customers by ensuring all liability decisions, costs and timescales submitted are fair and reasonable. Increasingly-popular driver behaviour telemetry and in-vehicle camera technology can often provide irrefutable and impartial evidence to inform liability decisions and support the fight against fraudulent claims. FMG’s driver behaviour telemetry, with crash notification technology, is a clear example of this service.
