Following the improvement of operational management processes, at OFESAUTO we have recently implemented an important change that speeds up the process for handling claims management arising from an accident caused by a foreign vehicle in Spain.
Until now, when OFESAUTO received official confirmation of the insurance coverage of a foreign vehicle in a specific foreign insurance company, the only information provided was who the claims correspondent for that company in Spain was.
This meant that the injured party had to be careful to resend the claim to the correspondent, resubmitting all the documentation, etc.
Now, when OFESAUTO receives official confirmation that a specific foreign vehicle is insured with a foreign company that has designated a claims correspondent in Spain:
1) A message is automatically sent to the correspondent indicating that they must forward a reasoned offer/response to the claimant/injured party. This message includes:
a. All the documentation that the claimant has provided to OFESAUTO, in addition to the official document from the foreign country proving and confirming the insurance coverage of the foreign vehicle.
b. The claimant/injured party is included so that they have direct contact with the correspondent and can cooperate in the handling of the claims management.
2) After 60 days have passed since that initial message, OFESAUTO sends a reminder to the correspondent that, if they have not done so already, they must forward a reasoned response to the claimant/injured party.
3) After 90 days have passed since the initial message, OFESAUTO sends an email to the claimant/injured party asking if they have received a reasoned response/offer from the correspondent or not:
a. If they answer affirmatively, the matter is archived.
b. If they answer negatively, a file is opened at OFESAUTO to verify if there has truly been a real lack of attention from the correspondent, and if so, OFESAUTO proceeds with the management. OFESAUTO will never intervene if it is shown that the correspondent acted appropriately, performing proactive management and forwarding a response on the merits of the case to the claimant within the deadline.
What is intended with this operation?
1) To ensure the correspondent has immediate knowledge of 100% of the cases in which OFESAUTO confirms insurance coverage with a company they represent in Spain, also providing the official confirmation forwarded to us by the foreign country.
2) Proactive management with the claimant on the part of the correspondent: from the moment OFESAUTO forwards the matter, the correspondent must contact the claimant, requesting the relevant documentation and/or explanations, clarifying concepts, etc.; ultimately, the goal is for the correspondent to begin managing the matter as if the claimant had addressed them directly.
3) Proactive management with the claimant on the part of OFESAUTO: we anticipate the claimant having to contact OFESAUTO again in case of lack of attention by the correspondent, as we contact them after 90 days asking about the status of their claim. Furthermore, in case of a negative response, the corresponding compensation file is automatically opened at OFESAUTO.
4) Time savings/reduction of administrative burden: we prevent claimants/injured parties from having to contact OFESAUTO providing all the documentation and then having to do the same again with the correspondent.
Claims management: less bureaucracy, more agility
What OFESAUTO aims for is for the correspondent to forward a reasoned offer/response regarding the merits of the claim to the injured party within the deadline in all cases where the insurance coverage of a foreign vehicle with an entity represented by said correspondent in Spain has been confirmed.
However, this does not imply that the correspondent must always pay, as the injured party may not cooperate in the management, may not provide specific necessary documentation, etc., but it does ensure that at least a reasoned response can always be forwarded.
In summary: if there is confirmed foreign insurance coverage and a designated correspondent in Spain, the correspondent must attend to the claimant/injured party within the deadline, and OFESAUTO’s role must be to supervise that this is done correctly.
