Ethos

24/7 Availability.

Our policyholders’ vehicles are on the road at all times of the day and night, delivering the goods and services that keep our modern world turning.

Due to the unsocial hours associated with the industry, we have established a 24/7 UK-based first notification of loss centre that allows us to extend our services around the clock.

These experts are able to take the full details of the claim without the need for the completion of a traditional claim form and repairers, engineers and recovery services can be deployed within minutes of our team being made aware of the accident.

We know that not all policyholders like to report their claims in the same way and we can therefore cater for all reporting methods. We are proud to have improved our responses times for claims reported via email to less than 60 minutes.

Modern day reporting.

We cater for all methods of claim reporting, ranging from a traditional claims form (which you can download here), telephone reports via our dedicated claim reporting line or email reporting.

The quicker we receive the full details of any claim the faster we can deploy our specialist commercial repair network to ensure “off road” time is kept to a minimum.

Our dedicated teams can provide a secure portal for the easy transfer of large files such as video and we also issue ‘bump cards’ to help drivers collect the absolute basic information at the scene of an accident.

Specialists Claims Management.

Direct Commercial has built a claims department on the foundations of experienced commercial motor claims professionals whilst supplementing future growth with own homegrown talent by way of the DCL Academy.

We now have a balance of experienced specialists supported by young emerging claims professionals that bring energy and passion to everything we do.

Opening our doors.

Building genuine relationships with our brokers, policyholders and their transport managers has proved to be a winning formula.

We actively encourage all stakeholders to visit us at our Chelmsford Head Office and discuss every aspect of the claims process together, covering any specific and individual queries. We have found that all parties benefit enormously from this dialogue and it creates a clear understanding of what each side are looking to achieve. From these meetings we can look to agree further face to face periodic meetings.

Dedicated handlers.

We know how frustrating it is to be passed around a department and repeat the same story to a different individual on countless occasions.

DCL Claims encompasses individual teams who are all dedicated to specific policyholders and brokers. As a result many of those involved are now on first name terms with brokers and clients alike. This helps us get to the heart of any issues quickly and avoids the frustrations and friction that can lead to dissatisfaction.

We will provide a ‘Welcome Pack’ to all newly incepted policyholders containing the details of the dedicated team that will manage their claim should a driver be unfortunate enough to have an accident.

Getting back on the road.

Here at DCL we understand the needs of our commercial policyholders and how important it is to return a vehicle to the road at the earliest opportunity.

We know that every day a vehicle is not working results in lost revenue for the policyholder. We have therefore sourced a network of commercial engineers, repairers and loss adjusters that are capable of empathising with the policyholder and focusing on the core issue that is the reduction of lost time off the road.

Our network can cater for all eventualities ranging from simple damage to a vehicle, through to managing claims for damaged rail bridges and catastrophic chemical spillage

Innovation.

As a commercial insurer we know that the vehicles we insure are prone to damaging not only other vehicles but causing significant structural damage to buildings and bridges.

We therefore put together a package of measures to enable us to intervene in all types of property damage claims. In taking back control of the repairs we can ensure that only damage associated with our specific accident is dealt with. This removes spurious claims and ensures expenditure is kept to a minimum whilst also maintaining the reputation of our policyholders.

Intervention.

Early claims reporting is of vital importance for us and is key to helping reduce the final incurred position of any claim.

It helps us eliminate inflation of third party claim costs by excluding the involvement of accident management companies and other “middle men” who are keen to take advantage of the events that transpire from a road traffic accident.

An immediate report helps us take control and manage the claim in the most efficient and cost effective way.

Updates.

As a claims department our goal is to keep policyholders and brokers up to date with the current position of all claims.

Due to the volume of claims that Direct Commercial manage we employ an organised and regimented process by which all updates are provided.

We do not like to discuss individual payments or outstanding reserves over the telephone for our Brokers and Policyholders protection and as such we require all requests to be submitted in writing via email.

On settled cases we shall automatically send an individual update to the broker providing final settlement details thus reducing the time it takes for you to close your file.

Fraud.

Commercial vehicles are often seen as an easy target for fraudulent claimants and the perception is that a claim against a commercial vehicle is a victimless crime.

We have taken a hard line with such claims, and use the latest technology to identify dishonest claimants.

Whilst our colleagues in the industry have their own strategies, we have chosen to actively pursue and prosecute those that lodge dishonest claims.

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You can read about some of our most recent successes here

Camatics.

This fantastic innovation allows us to view footage of the accident within moments of an alert being triggered. Camatics enables the claims team to identify those responsible for the accident or those that have been on the receiving end of a collision with one of our drivers.

Once an alert is received we have the opportunity to speak with our driver within moments of the accident and provide whatever assistance if required. Likewise, we are able to manage the damage to the third party and ensure they are put back on the road as soon as possible thus ensuring disruption is kept to the bare minimum.

This product is unlike anything else available in the market and provides us with the tools to mitigate all exposure whether our clients are at fault or not. Through embracing the technology we have seen an average frequency improvement of -7.5% and a claims cost improvement of -34%. If your clients are not already on our Camatics policy wording then make sure to obtain a quote at renewal; the policy even includes an excess waiver where the technology is utilised correctly.