The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has upgraded its contact centre with a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution. The Fund launched the strategy in Johannesburg on Monday. It says the move is a very serious pushback against legal practitioners, who, it says have turned the RAF into a cash cow for the longest time.
With this new solution, the Road Accident Fund says it has created more than 350 jobs. It says the CRM solution will make it easier for road accident victims to claim. Currently, the victims rely on legal practitioners to claim on their behalf. Chief Executive Officer, Collins Letsoalo, says the new system will integrate all platforms, including written communication, using WhatsApp or even calling directly.
“Everyone as South Africans who want to know about the claim and the claim process can come through those numbers. For us it is very important that we do that. We have 300 sitting waiting for these calls. It is something big for the Road Accident Fund to be more responsive to what the claimants have been asking for,” says Letsoalo.
Letsoalo says it used to take the Road Accident Fund an average of 4 years to conclude a claim. This has now been whittled down to 120 days and victims receive the full information of how much was paid to them. The CRM cost RAF R200 million over 15 months.
“Most of the people never knew what was paid to them and the lawyers were taking all that money. They also don’t know if it was paid. sometimes, it was paid two years ago and the claimant does not even know. This is very important for the claimant and for us to be able to make sure that we push those efficiencies,” Letsoalo added.
“The claimants have been and will continue to be the lifeblood of the Road Accident Fund and the fund has declared as it has been said 2023 as the year of the claimant. We thank you the board of the Road Accident Fund and I also want to appreciate the work of the previous board that took us to where we are today,” says Sindisiwe Chikunga, Transport Minister.
Monday 09th also marks the last day for calls to comment on the RAF draft amendment bill.
The proposed amendments include a complete restructuring of the RAF, moving away from a “compensation” to a “social benefits” structure. These proposed changes face fierce opposition, with some saying they pose a grave threat to the rights and well-being of accident victims across the country.
