A new app launched by local private investigation services firm, FICS, will help drivers, passengers or witnesses capture all the details they need from the scene of an accident.<\/p>\n
The app lets users to comprehensively capture all the information needed to process an insurance claim or from the Road Accident Fund, and hopes to significantly reduce the time-frames needed to get through the process.<\/p>\n
According to FICS, the app is the first of its kind in South Africa.<\/p>\n
It uses geo-location technology, and a smartphone’s own capabilities to allow users to capture data such as:<\/p>\n
FICS notes that it owns and stores all information captured using the app.<\/p>\n
Once the information is captured, it is stored on a cloud-based server, and a standard merit report is made available for purchase to interested parties.<\/p>\n
For each report sold, the person who collected the data is paid R500 (a report can be sold to more than one party). A report collector benefits each time by R500 when a report is sold.<\/p>\n
The group also developed a secure, online system for updating clients on the status of an investigation.<\/p>\n
“Claim submissions to the Road accident Fund (RAF) can take years – but once submitted, the RAF has 120 days in which to resolve a claim to avoid prescription. If the RAF cannot finalise a claim within the 120-day period allowed per legislation, an attorney can issue a summons,” said FICS founder, Gerhard Becker.<\/p>\n
“The magnitude of the workload means that most of these claims are not resolved within the 120-day period, resulting in prolonged legal disputes.<\/p>\n
“Red tape and subsequent delays in the court process, mean that claims can take between five and seven years and longer to resolve, at huge cost for all stakeholders involved,” Becker said.<\/p>\n
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