THIRD PARTY VEHICLE/PROPERTY DAMAGE COMPENSATION CLAIMS

If a member of the public incurs a vehicle or property damage arising from a collision with a police vehicle and you wish to seek compensation, the following must be followed.

SA Police considered to be at fault

Should a third party (driver/owner) involved in a vehicle/property damage incident require the need to contact SAPOL regarding compensation, you should in the first instance consider whether you are going to lodge a claim with your insurer.

• If the intention is to lodge a claim with your insurer, you should provide details of the collision to your insurer who will contact SAPOL in due course.
• If the third party does not have insurance or is not lodging a claim with their insurer, then, the following information is required to be submitted for consideration.

1. A brief letter regarding your intention to claim compensation which includes relevant details of the collision addressing the following:-

• how the collision occurred;
• the collision date and time;
• location of collision;
• registration number of vehicle(s) involved;
• the police driver involved (if known);
• police vehicle registration number (if known);
• Vehicle Collision number (if known);
• their contact details.

2. Repair Cost details:-

• should repair costs not exceed $1,000 then one quote is acceptable.
• should repair costs exceed $1,000 then the driver/owner will be required to provide SAPOL with 3 quotes. The quotes will be forwarded to a qualified independent vehicle assessor who will be required to provide SAPOL with an assessment report.
• The settlement offer will be made in writing on advice from the assessor's report.

3. Send the letter and accompanying quote(s) to the following address:-

South Australia Police
Business Analyst
Services Management Branch
Level 3, 100 Angas Street
ADELAIDE SA 5000

Third Party (driver/owner) considered to be at fault

Repair costs will be established for the police vehicle. A letter will be sent to the driver involved in the collision seeking compensation.

The driver/owner is then obliged to:-

• notify the insurer (must lodge a claim with insurer); or
• notify SAPOL of the Policy Number, Claim Number, Insurer and Insurer contact details in writing;
• notify the SAPOL Business Analyst should they be uninsured, to discuss reimbursement options available to settle the claim.

Should further clarification be required, contact the Business Analyst, Services Management Branch, on 7322 4050.