Both the General Insurance Association of Barbados (GIAB) and the Barbados Police Service are expressing optimism about the new policy where police no longer respond to minor traffic accidents.
The measure took effect from September 15 and though no major issues have developed so far, both groups said it was too early to gauge the long-term impact.
The policy was introduced as part of a broader Government effort to free up police resources and improve their efficiency in responding to more critical matters. Under the new regulations, insurance companies, which are often called to the scene to assess damage, will now take on a more central role in managing minor accidents.
The decision was announced last month, following concerns over the amount of time police officers were spending on relatively minor incidents, which could be better handled through administrative processes.
GIAB president Randy Graham said the insurance sector was accustomed to managing accident scenes.
“We had already been responding to accidents, so it’s not really a big change for the insurance companies. It’s really more for the public and the police,” he told the Weekend Nation.
Graham noted that so far, things were running smoothly. “In the first couple of days it’s been pretty quiet.
I haven’t heard anything from the police as to if anything has changed.”
Police Communications and Public Affairs Officer Inspector Rodney Inniss. FILE
Police communications and public affairs officer, Inspector Rodney Inniss, said police were monitoring the situation closely and had been in contact with some insurers.
“I spoke to some insurance representatives. They haven’t had much concern that they’ve brought to my attention as yet. We are just in a waiting mode to see . . . . We’ll give it a couple of weeks rather than a few days to see what’s coming out of it.”
Both Graham and Inniss emphasised the importance of training for smooth implementation of the policy. Insurance representatives were trained by the police to handle accident scene assessments, including taking measurements and documenting evidence.
“We did that [training] since last year and training is an ongoing process, of course,” Inniss said.
He added that police will address any issues that arise as “the system is not perfect. It will take a few months [as] everybody gets accustomed – the police, the insurance and certainly the public”.
Both officials acknowledged that the change requires a cultural shift in how Barbadians handle minor traffic accidents.
“There’s a change, there’s a cultural change, and you know, some people would be against it. Many are for it but it’s something that we have to do going forward,” Inniss explained. “It takes a while, but then people get the true sense of it and they buy in.”
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