The collaboration aims to help insurers ’safeguard against the risk of claims’
International law firm DAC Beachcroft and insurtech Automated Insurance Solutions (AIS) have launched ACE - an automated, digital tool designed to help insurers gather evidence and prepare compliant witness statements quickly as part of the motor insurance claims process.
ACE further aims to support motor insurers to dispute liability in the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal.
In the new online claims portal, introduced on 31 May 2021, motor insurers have only 30 working days to upload a compliant witness statement on behalf of the defendant driver - accompanied by a signed statement of truth if they wish to dispute liability for the road traffic accident.
However, if no liability dispute has been raised within the 30 working days, insurers then cannot defend the claim based on the issue of liability.
Peter Allchorne, DAC Beachcroft partner and head of its Innovations Lab, said: “Defendants have always had to provide a signed statement of truth when defending a claim, but this must now be prepared, signed and submitted within 30 working days.
“Obtaining the necessary evidence from the defendant driver for the statement could previously take many weeks, but under the new OIC process, insurers don’t have the luxury of that time.”
Real challenge for motor insurers
The online tool is powered by insurtech AIS’ artificial intelligence-based liability assessment and first notification of loss decisioning platform BAIL. Meanwhile, DAC Beachcroft’s specialist motor lawyers developed the question set that defendant drivers must answer, so that statements comply with the new OIC portal’s requirements.
Allchorne added: “Our new ACE tool provides a simple, low cost, automated digital solution to a very real challenge for motor insurers if they are disputing liability.
“The new tool enables them to safeguard against the risk of claims with reasonable prospects of being successfully defended from being compromised.”
Craig Dickson, DAC Beachcroft’s claims solutions group’s chief executive, said: “We are constantly looking for ways to introduce further automation and efficiencies that benefit our clients.
“By collaborating with AIS, we have been able to develop yet another innovative solution that makes life easier for our insurer clients.”
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