Body repair members of the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce say Suncorp is taking up to five months to return vehicle assessments, leaving policyholders and repairers “in limbo”.

Chamber CEO Geoff Gwilym says it should take no longer than five working days, on average, for an insurer to complete an assessment on an accident-damaged vehicle once a repairer provides an estimate.

But Suncorp “takes anywhere from three weeks to five months” to return assessments, he says.

“It seems Suncorp chooses when customers and repairers jump the vehicle assessment queue,” the chamber said today.

“Smash repair businesses report Suncorp motor vehicle assessors refuse to attend and complete assessments and opt for over-the-phone intimidation tactics to force repairers to accept repair costs prior to sighting the insurer’s assessment.”

Suncorp told insuranceNEWS.com.au it is disappointed no issues have been “raised directly with us”.

“We hope to work constructively with [the chamber] to address its concerns as a matter of urgency,” a spokesperson said. “We take our obligations to our customers, repairers and the motor repair code very seriously.”

The chamber cites cases in which Suncorp told customers assessments would take six to eight weeks or they could avoid the wait by attending a Suncorp repairer.

“Suncorp must address its systemic failures and operate fairly and transparently,” Mr Gwilym said. “If staffing is an issue ... either hire and train more motor vehicle assessors or use external independent assessing firms.”

Among a record 102,790 disputes escalated to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority last year, claim delays grew 20% to 10,692 cases – the second most complained about issue across all financial services after unauthorised transactions (12,289 cases).