A simple traffic-accident investigation report issued by competent authority and made in the absence of a police report should be enough to process damage claims in road accidents, the Insurance Commission (IC) said on Wednesday.
Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa himself stressed this point, saying this was meant to speed up the process of claims handling and reduce bottlenecks caused by the road accidents.
Funa recently signed a regulation directing insurance companies to recognize traffic-accident investigation reports in processing motor insurance claims arising from accidents in public highways, roads and streets of Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao.
Insurers require police reports for the processing of motor insurance claims at present. This was said to be tedious and takes some time as policemen who make the reports often come from somewhere far.
“The recognition of traffic-accident investigation reports prepared by authorized persons other than policemen could ease traffic after accidents, as the waiting period for the response and preparation of the report is lessened. Compared to policemen, the persons authorized to prepare the traffic-accident investigation report are already on the ground and can easily respond to traffic accidents,” Funa said.
Under the new regulation, a traffic-accident investigation report is a document prepared by authorized persons, which includes traffic officers, personnel or constables of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority provided that they are duly certified by the Land Transportation Office to have completed and passed the necessary course for traffic-accident investigation reporting.
“We note the waiting time before vehicles involved in an accident are removed from the highway causes bottlenecks. At present, the traffic congestion is aggravated after an accident due to the lack of police investigators in the vicinity, which is attributed to the fact that policemen usually take time to arrive at the scene as they usually come from their respective precincts,” he added.
To be a valid insurance-claims document, traffic-accident investigation reports are required to be attested by the parties involved in the accident and by the person who prepared the same, and must contain the following information: adequate information on the location of the accident; identity of the parties involved in the accident and witnesses; narrative description of the facts of the accident; a simple diagram of the scene of the accident; traffic violation, if any; available closed-circuit television footages; and photographs.
Funa said the use of the traffic-accident investigation report can only be used as an alternative to the police report when the road accident causes bodily injury and damage to the motor vehicle.
“This is not applicable to any claim arising from fire, external explosion, self-ignition or lightning or burglary, housebreaking, theft, malicious act, or for no fault clause claims in a third-party liability insurance and for insurance claims of passengers of public-utility vehicles,” he said.