ILC Breakfast News – Wednesday 28 June 2023

Crash for cash scam hits capital

Drivers in London have been warned about a new crash-for-cash scam being instigated by moped users.

It is estimated that this network of moped fraudsters has targeted 2,250 people in the last two years alone, attempting more than £27m worth of false claims.

Insurers count cost of rising vehicle thefts

Specialist motor insurance adjuster Claims Management & Adjusting (CMA) says that vehicle thefts are now costing UK insurers £1.54bn a year.

Ben marks World Wellbeing Week

Automotive charity Ben has emphasised how good mental and physical health can both influence and be influenced by wellbeing.

To mark World Wellbeing Week, Ben has urged colleagues in the automotive industry to take care of their health and wellbeing as the industry and wider workplace undergoes a significant transformation.

Tenet and Solera offer EV financing

Solera Auto Finance has announced a new partnership with climate-financing platform Tenet Energy to offer prime electric vehicle (EV) financing on its dealership platform.

Synetiq site updates see capacity surge

Synetiq has announced several site upgrades to help streamline operations for the combined IAA and Synetiq business and create cost savings for customers.

How to challenge ‘unreasonable’ invoices

While repair costs are ever-increasing, driven by supply chain issues, labour shortages, inflation and technology, insurers can still successfully challenge unreasonable invoices.

DAC Beachcroft has identified the key areas insurers need to focus on to ensure their challenge is successful.

Safety first before long drives

Inshur has put together a ‘Before-You-Go’ safety checklist to help drivers stay safe on long journeys, as well as the ‘Post-Accident’ steps to take following an incident.

EV insurance prices coming down

Zego has revealed that the gap between insuring electric or petrol and diesel vehicles is closing. The average annual premium for an EV is now £654, with some premiums as low as £400.

e2e reports 95% recycling rate

New data has found that e2e members recycle 95% of all vehicles which are end-of-life, meeting targets set by the EU ELV Directive to DEFRA on an annual basis.

The company decontaminates, dismantles and depollutes over 300,000 vehicles per year.  

Enterprise repair winners revealed

Enterprise hosted its annual repairer awards ceremony recently, when more than 400 insurers, repairers and suppliers from across the network converged to celebrate outstanding service in the last year.

Fix Auto Swansea to join network

Fix Auto UK is enhancing its footprint in Wales with the news that Fix Auto Swansea West will join the network.

The site is managed by Matthew Davies and Paul Gravell, whose team of 12 now repairs up to 80 vehicles a month.

Don’t be left high and dry by flooding

Ian Gibbs, National Technical Manager, Repair Solutions, Sedgwick, has highlighted the cost and wellbeing benefits of effective flood resilience.

This comes after it was revealed that more than five million homes and businesses in the UK are at risk of flooding.

ABI calls for more leaseholder support

The Association of British Insurers has urged the government to offer more support to leaseholders affected by the building safety crisis.

It is calling for government to cover catastrophic losses over a certain amount, to remove the rate of Insurance Premium Tax from the premiums paid on affected buildings, and for swifter remediation of buildings awaiting works for fire safety issues.

New tech fighting fraud ‘pandemic’

Fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, while the cost-of-living crisis has created what some experts call a pandemic of insurance fraud.

Here, Nigel Cannings, CTO, Intelligent Voice, explains how artificial intelligence combined with speech recognition can open the door to a new era of audio and video data fraud detection.

New app delivers instant property insights

CoreLogic has unveiled a first-of-its-kind app for the home insurers to reduce time to insight from months to minutes.

The Self-Service Clip App provides insurers with a comprehensive understanding of any property to enable efficient, confident decision-making through detailed property data and analytics.

Claim Technology unveils autonomous claims solution

Claim Technology has released a new solution to automate vehicle repair decisions.

By combining Claim Technology’s customer self-serve with AI damage assessment and desktop engineering capabilities from their insurtech marketplace, the product delivers an actionable repair decision plus a detailed estimate within 24 hours.

Accelerant Insurance Europe sees GWP treble

Accelerant Insurance Europe’s gross written premium tripled in 2022, rising from £188m in 2021 to £569m in 2022.

Accelerant Insurance Europe is a major provider of capacity to MGAs in the UK.

Managing claims for maximum benefits

Claims management has always been an uneven landscape. The introduction of Consumer Duty next month will only add complexity – and, for insurers, jeopardy.

Here, Nikki Ceko, Strategic Client Director – Insurance, Davies Group, considers the impact the new regulations will have on the sector and identifies the key considerations towards achieving compliance.

2023 could be the year of the captives

Captives could be operating in Lloyd’s within the next year after it launched a new framework that allows them to operate through a captive syndicate.

Richard Tee, Director for Captive Management, Guernsey, said, “A captive owner can access A-rated paper from Lloyd’s and issue policies all over the world via Lloyd’s global licences.”

Talking sense with Chris Mcilduff

Chris Mcilduff, Chief Customer Officer at Davies Consulting, has highlighted how technology combined with the human touch can deliver excellence in customer journeys.

Speaking during ARC360’s latest podcast, he also explained how processes and training can directly improve customer support.

Five service superpowers delivered by SightCall

SightCall has said that using new technology effectively can give a business ‘superpowers when it comes to customer service.

It has identified five key areas where its tech can make a difference – right first time solutions; speed of service; cost reductions as a result of greater efficiency; improved safety protocols; and flexibility of service delivered anywhere, anytime.

Gemini ARC celebrates landmark birthday

Gemini ARC is celebrating its 15^th year in business. The group now operates more than 30 repair centres across the UK, from the south west to north east, and employs more than 600 colleagues.

Pet insurance claims hit new high

Pet insurance payouts topped £1bn in 2022, according to the Association of British Insurers.

This is the highest amount ever recorded, and a 28% increased on 2021, with 1.3 million claims notified.

New Generation: Samantha Breden

Innovation and technology are the industry’s greatest strengths, according to Samantha Breden, Senior Account Manager at Perfect Group, who discussed her current role and how she sees it evolving in the latest ILC New Generation interview.

Nikki Sayles has joined Edam Group as Account Director.

LV= General Insurance has named James Parry as Senior Category Manager for Home.

Sophie Ward has been appointed as Technical Claims Manager at Pen Underwriting UK.

Insurance claims management solutions specialist Evolution Claims Management has promoted Martin Thompson to the role of Chief Operating Officer.