Budget cuts are an on-going reality for local authorities and the services they provide will need to be reduced in order to make savings. Road improvements are a costly service and one area that many local authorities will try and cut back on.
Recent research by RAC shows that across 204 local authorities in Great Britain, 30,000 pothole damage claims were received in the last financial year. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring roads are maintained. If a motorist damages their vehicle due to a council’s negligence in maintaining the road then a motorist is able to submit a claim.
Without the funding to fix the increasing issues with the road network, the council’s will pay out more in insurance claims. When does it become more financially beneficial to fix the roads than pay-out insurance claims to motorists? Using the JCAD LACHS claims management system, our local authority clients are able to record the number of pothole claims they receive and the value of the claims (estimates and actual payment figures). This report can be run over set periods of time. Having access to this information allows trends, costs and problem areas to be highlighted.
With all the information to hand with regards to the cost of pothole claims, the authority can make informed decisions about what measures to take to ensure cost savings; for example, if over a 2 year period the cost of insurance claims would have been £950,000 and the cost of resurfacing would have cost just £600,000, the authority would have saved £350,000 by resurfacing. Cost is not the only factor that local authorities need to consider. They are responsible for ensuring that they are safe for use to eliminate accidents and in turn personal injury claims.
The administration of claims can also be greatly improved by using JCAD LACHS. LACHS is a claims management system that acts as a centralised database storing contacts, documents and images. It offers the ability to automate claims into the MOJ portal, has the option of using a web-based form for collecting claims information ‘“ removing the need for postal forms and data entry. With great reporting facilities, the system can provide management with a number of reports at the push of a button; this invaluable data allows for informed business decisions to be made.
A brand new release of our claims management system will be available soon, why not see for yourself the new features available and how this claims management solution could benefit your organisation. For more information on JCAD LACHS please visit www.jcad.com or call 01730 712027 to arrange a demo.
