Save the date…
ARC360 – Back to the Future – sees a welcome return to physical events on Thursday 25 November at the British Motor Museum, Warwickshire.
Offering an event experience to remember – including plenty of exciting ARC360 initiatives – the day will focus on just what the past means for the future of the industry.
McKinsey explores market rebound
Insurers are likely to confront three persistent challenges that can be addressed – at least in part – by transforming claims management to improve profitability according to a new McKinsey insight.
The insight – Are motor claims in Europe about to rebound? – explores how as mobility – and insurance claim volumes – ramp back up after the pandemic slowdown, insurers can return with a stronger claims value proposition.
It highlights three key areas: top-line pressure will continue; digital is here to stay; and inflation will affect claims costs.
Insurers respond to CCPC investigation
Six leading insurance companies have agreed to reform their internal competition law compliance programmes after an investigation by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in Ireland.
The investigation focused on anti-competitive practices in the provision of motor insurance, and although AIG Europe, Allianz, AXA Insurance, Aviva Insurance Ireland, FBD Insurance and AA Ireland all deny any breaches, each has made legal commitments to provide mechanisms for internal monitoring and whistleblowing, independent oversight and regular competition law training.
A seventh company, Brokers Ireland, has not agreed to the terms.
Covid consequences ‘permanent’ – but unknown
The incident repair market has been permanently altered by Covid-19, although the nature and extent of that change is still uncertain.
The second ILC/ARC360 Great British Motor Claims Survey found that nearly three quarters of respondents (73%) believe that impacts on supply and demand in the last year and more have changed market dynamics forever. However, what that change will look like is less clear.
AutoRaise supports Saint Gobain levy transfer
AutoRaise has acted as both the administrator and facilitator to enable Saint Gobain to approve transfers of more than £125,000 to fund new apprentice start-ups within the vehicle repair industry.
“This is fantastic for, not only our own affiliated repairers, but also others within the industry who this funding has helped. Saint Gobain’s generous offer of transferring some of their levy pot to repairers has enabled 10 new apprentices to be taken on in their bodyshops respectively,” said Steve Thompson, vice chair of AutoRaise.
FCA warns insurers over new product governance rules
Insurance firms may not be ready to implement new product governance rules there to ensure insurance provides fair value, according to a review published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Part of the FCA’s ongoing work to ensure consumers receive fair value, the review looked at how firms designed, sold and reviewed their products to ensure they met the needs of their customers.
The FCA found too many firms are not fully meeting the FCA’s standards. In addition, many firms are likely to be unprepared to meet new enhanced rules on product governance, which come into force on 1 October 2021. These new rules are part of a wider package of remedies introduced by the FCA to tackle the loyalty penalty and ensure that firms focus on providing fair value to all their customers.
UK car manufacturing down but electrics rising
UK car manufacturing output fell -37.6% in July, the first fall since February, with just 53,438 units made, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
It represented the worst July performance since 1956 as manufacturers grappled with the global shortage of semiconductors and staff absence resulting from the ‘pingdemic’, with some altering summer shutdown timings to help manage the situation.
However, more than a quarter (26%) of all cars made in July were either battery electric (BEV), plug in hybrid (PHEV) or hybrid electric (HEV), the highest share on record.
IMI focuses on vehicle recycling standards
The IMI is calling for input from employers, industry experts and other relevant stakeholders as it develops National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the vehicle recycling sector.
NOS are used to help develop qualifications used in apprenticeship frameworks in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland as well as the IMI accreditation scheme for staff in all nations of the UK.
Phase 1 of the feedback will be carried out electronically via Teams and/or Zoom between 6 to 9 September. Phase 2 will gather feedback on the new draft NOS developed as a result of these meetings.
Cazoo opens new Customer Centre in Liverpool
Cazoo has opened its latest Customer Centre in Liverpool marking the 19th customer collection/drop off location opened by Cazoo over the past 11 months.
Cazoo has invested over £1m in the site and created 15 new customer-facing and vehicle-servicing jobs. The company is planning to open a further five Customer Centres across the UK this year.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Dunkley, ex-CEO of CarShop and ex-Sytner Group Board member, has joined Cazoo as senior strategic adviser.
Mitchell links with Inspektlabs AI
Mitchell has linked with Inspektlabs artificial intelligence (AI) to enable insurers to automatically generate an appraisal from photos or videos of collision-damaged vehicles.
Inspektlabs is the third AI provider to integrate with Mitchell Intelligent Estimating through the Mitchell Intelligent Open Platform. The claims automation solution also supports computer vision technology from Tractable and Claim Genius.
