29 april 2022

Vrijdag 29 april 2022
Operations at Stichting IMN's National Central Reporting Point (LCM) are set to revert to the Insurers Assistance Service, formally known as the Verzekeraarshulpdienst (VHD), after a gap of nearly fourteen years. LCM operations for the period from 2023 - 2027 were the subject of a tender procedure in which VHD was awarded the contract. The LCM's activities are currently administered by SOS International.

Peter Varenkamp, managing director of the VHD

In the 1980s and 90s, the Verzekeraarshulpdienst was responsible for the configuration of what, at the time, was still called the Central Incident Reporting Point (known in Dutch as the CMI). This was where police constabularies across the country could report accidents involving passenger vehicles. As soon as a report had been received, the CMI instructed the appropriate vehicle recovery operator for the district in question. Once the operator had logged a vehicle's registration plate, indicating that the recovery was complete, the next step was to look up details of the insurer responsible for the vehicle. At that point, the CMI passed on the dossier to the response centre that worked for the insurer in question.

In 1998, the VHD transferred responsibility for the CMI to Stichting Incident Management Nederland, which had just been established. As a result, all response centres now had a role in supervising the work of the reporting point. This was also the point at which the new name for the national reporting point, the LCM, was introduced. The VHD was in charge of LCM operations until mid-2009.

The decision to revert to the services of VHD is as yet a provisional one. Other participants in the tender procedure have an opportunity to appeal against the decision as it stands. The VHD will also be required to undertake a number of practical tests. If the tests are successfully concluded, the definitive decision will be announced at the start of 2023.