FAQ’s

Q1:  The Council currently deals with Uninsured Loss Recovery in-house. What benefits could using MAPS bring for us?

A1: Many Local Authorities have developed ad hoc arrangements for recovering their losses, sometimes leaving this work to individual service departments, to a central Fleet Management section or to a Debt Recovery Unit in the Finance Department. Monitoring of progress on claims/recovery can often prove problematic for the Insurance Officer and delays in recovery can arise. When it proves necessary to take legal action to recover outlay, this leads to the involvement of the Legal Department, whose Litigation Section is frequently under pressure from other work. The total costs involved are often masked by the fragmented nature of the exercise and the Authority is at some risk of incurring legal costs should it prove unsuccessful in its Court action.

Employing MAPS to undertake recovery would bring the following benefits:

  * Underwritten legal expenses insurance of £100,000 to pursue compensation claims
  * One point of contact for registering claims
  * Expert advice on what to claim for and in claims handling
  * Ability to monitor progress of individual claims on-line via a dedicated website link
  * First class service at highly competitive premiums demonstrating “Best Value” solution
  * Releasing in-house staff to undertake more productive work

Q2: We only insure third party risks and the Council has its own Insurance Team. Why should we outsource this work to MAPS?

A2: Our experience suggests that many Local Authority Insurance Teams are overloaded with work, dealing with responses to liability claims, own-fault accident cases and other risk management issues. They are frequently understaffed due to financial restraints on the Council and, as motor uninsured loss recovery forms only a small part of the section’s work, it is sometimes overlooked as a priority. Delays in dealing with a claim can lead to difficulties in achieving recovery of losses. The actual staff costs incurred in securing settlement are difficult to identify, because individual members of staff may be dealing with a multiplicity of issues. Where a member of staff or passenger in a Council vehicle is injured in a non-fault motor accident, the Council has no provision to assist them in pursuing a claim for compensation.

In addition to the benefits outlined in 1 above, the MAPS Legal Expenses policy covers all types of vehicle, any authorised driver or passenger travelling in the vehicle. The Council consequently has the assurance that it could advise an individual member of staff or passenger that, should they wish to pursue a claim, MAPS will be able to assist them at no cost under the terms of the Council’s Legal Expenses Policy. This benefit has proved particularly attractive to County, Unitary and Metropolitan Authorities whose vehicle fleets include, for example, Social Services ambulances and school mini-buses.

Q3: Our insurance company already recovers all repair costs except for a £250 excess. The cost of recovery could outweigh the excess. How could MAPS help here?

A3: Our premium rates are highly competitive and we invariably recover substantially more for our public authority clients than they have paid to us for the benefit of a Legal Expenses Insurance Policy covering their vehicle fleet. Many Councils are content to recover the majority of their vehicle repair costs, without realising that there are other costs which they can legitimately claim against the offending third party motorist.

These costs might include:

  * Policy excess
  * Reasonable hire charges where an alternative vehicle has been provided
  * Loss of use where no alternative vehicle has been provided whilst the damaged vehicle has been unavailable
  * Damaged equipment
  * Out of pocket expenses - telephone, postage, etc
  * Recovery of wages paid to an injured member of staff

Q4: What other services could MAPS provide?

A4: We have close working relationships with major insurance companies, local authority brokers and claims handlers. For some authorities MAPS provides a simple uninsured loss recovery service, whilst for others we act as the first point of contact for all motor insurance claims, referring fault claims on to the Councils own insurer or claims handling service and dealing with any non-fault accidents. The Council’s Insurance Officer and/or Fleet Manager is consequently aware from day 1 of the claim exactly who is dealing with it and is able to monitor on-line the progress on all claims being dealt by MAPS. Regular update reports can be provided to meet client requirements. A full Third Party Claims service, under which MAPS would also deal with motor claims against Council, is also available.