In July 2021, insurers started to handle the material schade to private passenger cars of theirown third-party insured customers. These are customers whose damage was caused by another motor vehicle, of which that driver is liable. As a result, the form of schade will soon be handled faster and easier.
For members of the Dutch Association of Insurers, an extensive toolkit has been compiled to simplify the introduction of Direct Claims Handling.
Why switch to Direct Claims Handling?
For almost all damage, the customer reports to his own, trusted insurer. This applies to the contents and home insurance, but also to the all-risk coverage of the car insurance. Only with the third-party coverage this is not the case, and that often leads to disappointment with the customer. And to suspicion: who is the other insurer? Switching to direct claims handling therefore has many advantages:
- Damage is handled more easily and efficiently for the consumer.
- The consumer simply knocks on the door of his own insurer, and reports his damage, for example, via an app.
- Submitting a claim will cost the consumer and the insurer less time, because it is no longer necessary to find out who the liable insurer is.
- The consumer no longer has to enter into a dialogue with the liable party himself.
- Insurers are getting closer to their own customers. Through closer contact with their own customer, they can work on higher customer satisfaction and a faster handling process.
- In addition, insurers can let the customer benefit from services that is already there for own all risk insureds. Customerscan have their vehicle repaired via the insurer's network, so that they are assured of quality.
- Consumers have a relationship with their own insurer, if they are not satisfied with the service they can follow up by cancelling the insurance.
How does it work?
If an accident has occurred between two passenger cars, each party reports the damage to its own insurer. The insurer then examines whether there is coverage. If an insured person is only insured against liability, the insurer will deal with the damage if the other party is jointly or fully liable for the accident. The damage is therefore always handled with the own insured. This means that any discussions about liability also take place with your own insurer.
Story
After the damage has been determined and paid out to the customer, recovery only takes place with the liable insurer. At the moment, this also works with all risk insurance and insurers have experienced that it is an efficient process, especially because discussions between insurers are prevented as much as possible. As with all-risk insurance, the recovery takes place via Clearinghuis, based on the Simplified Claims Settlement Agreement (OVS).
Infographic Direct Claims Handling
Current
Background
September 2014. On the A58 in Zeeland, one of the largest chain collisions ever takes place in our country. There are two dead, 23 (seriously) injured and about 150 vehicles involved. Insurers quickly decide that the damage must be compensated by their own insurer, so that victims are helped as quickly as possible. The first idea for a Direct Claims Handling is born.
Developments in mobility
Direct claims handling is also better suited to future developments in technology, alternative transport (e-bike, e-step) and data (connected car, connected traffic lights). These trends are leading to major shifts among insurers, who increasingly need to focus on more autonomous cars and on shifting car ownership to car sharing.
In the long term, it is therefore not even inconceivable that customers will place all damage (both material and injury) with one insurer (a first party insurance landscape). It may even be the case that there is no longer a mutual story to take place, but that is still future music.