By Denise Johnson
Claims Journal
According to industry experts, stakeholders affected by the consequences of police pursuits include law enforcement agencies, municipalities and insurers. The claims that can arise as a result of police pursuits include property damage, bodily injury, death, workers’ compensation, medical payments, and collision and comprehensive losses.
The gap left by some law enforcement agencies having police pursuit policies while others do not may best be closed by technology.
Trevor Fischbach, president of StarChase, a company that offers a GPS product to help law enforcement track stolen vehicles, says the intent of his company’s product is to deter car thieves. In doing so, the product has also reduced the potential for police chases – something that now costs, according to his company’s research of public court settlement documents, in excess of $15 billion in claims.
“St. Pete [St. Petersburg, Fla.] has had, I believe, about an 85-percent success rate with StarChase. They basically view us as that tactic or technology that fits in that gap between a well-intentioned policy and allowing the officers to still uphold the law and do their job safely,” Fischbach said. “A lot of their tags have been stolen vehicles. Every single one has been recovered safely, no pursuit and no damage to the stolen vehicle, which means XYZ insurance agency is getting that vehicle back to their customer.”
Full Story: Technology May Trump Policy When it Comes to Police Pursuits