Kirsty McKno, the chair of the Credit Hire Organisation (the CHO) is to step down after completing her four-year term of office at the trade association, which represents the credit hire industry in the UK.
She explained that as part of the CHO’s ongoing modernising process, she has overseen launch of a new CHO Constitution, the core of which is the creation of a strategic board, comprising senior executives from member companies, to oversee the future direction of travel for the CHO.
She said: “The Strategic board, which takes over on 5 November, is the next step in further professionalising the CHO and will ensure that the trade body continues to lead on behalf of its members during this very challenging period for the claims industry.”
“The board will help connect and align those at the very top of our industry with the daily challenges faced by our members and the hundreds of thousands of customers they serve each year.”
Kirsty said under her leadership the last four years had brought about significant changes to the CHO, in particular making it more professional, improving governance, and pursuing a policy of positive engagement with stakeholders across the industry, government and the media.
“Credit hire is complex and poorly understood by many people in the claims industry, let alone the general public, but it fulfils a vital service for consumers needing mobility after an accident.”
“We have worked hard to educate stakeholders about credit hire. In professionalising the organisation, we have carved out our seat at the claims industry table to ensure our members’ interests and concerns are properly taken account of by regulators, policy makers and officials, as well as insurers.”
She cited in particular the agreement between GTA subscribers – both insurers and CHCs – to support motor claims during the lockdown (The GTA is a voluntary protocol that insurers and CHCs use to manage replacement vehicle motor claims).
“Signing such an agreement would have been unthinkable five-ten years ago, but the lockdown showed how closely interconnected we are in the claims industry and it was important to find agreement with insurers so that claims could be settled and customers had mobility.”
Kirsty, who is a consultant to a number of companies operating in the claimant sector, said that she intends to stay in credit hire and the claims sector. “Credit hire is an exciting and fascinating industry and I will be closely involved in its future.”
The CHO strategic board will consider how the trade association will be set up and organised and plans to update the market in due course.
About the CHO
The CHO is the trade body that represents the interests of CHCs. CHCs provide temporary replacement vehicles (“TRVs”) to non-fault parties following road traffic accidents.
Non-fault parties are legally entitled to be put back in to the position they were in before the accident, which means that a mobility solution will be required while their own damaged vehicle is being dealt with. The fault party is liable to pay their reasonable costs of arranging this without them having to make a claim on their policy. CHC’s work with non-fault customers to provide that service in the most cost-effective way possible and more often than not in accordance with industry agreements with at fault insurers.
The CHO works collaboratively with third parties to reduce friction in the industry by improving regulatory and compliance processes and championing innovation, especially where it improves the experience of our customers.
Our collaborative strategy follows the final report of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into credit hire in 2015, which found that credit hire companies provide a legitimate service to non-fault accident victims who require mobility, at minimal cost to the policy holder. We continue to work to reduce that cost further.
For more information please contact:
Ben Welsh: Certus Communications Ltd: 07568 382040
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