ILC ARTICLE

Industry leader interview – Carl Clavering, Owner and Managing Director of BHR Assist

5th October 2023

We speak to BHR Assist Owner and Managing Director Carl Clavering to find out more about his company, and how it is helping clients in the automotive claims industry to negotiate and settle credit hire claims without the need for litigation.

Tell us about your business.

BHR Assist Insurance Services leverages the latest innovation and technology to deliver a holistic, transformational approach to credit hire services which is proven to significantly reduce insurer spend.

We have developed a unique credit hire defence suite which empowers insurers with free access to live contemporaneous BHR data from mainstream and local hire suppliers for all vehicle types, including taxi, dual control, adaptive, etc.

Our basic products include, a GTA check which uses an algorithm to provide the GTA group against any make and model from a VRN.  We also have Intervene, Compare, Statement and Statement+ where we use BHR and loss of use data to submit offers directly to Claimants.  

All our products are designed with one thing in mind which is to drive down the cost of credit hire through honesty, integrity, and accuracy just as our company slogan says.

What are the challenges are facing your business right now, and how are you working to overcome them?

Our primary challenge lies in conveying to insurers that there is a more way efficient and effective way to utilise Basic Hire Rate (BHR) data when handling credit hire claims, one that significantly reduces claims costs, indemnity spend, litigation and therefore associate legal cost.

To overcome this hurdle, we’ve invested heavily in promoting our services inline via social media and becoming corporate members of I Love Claims to further strengthen our name and reputation as a supplier of indemnity reducing services for the insurance industry.

We also engage with insurance companies directly to explain the advantages of pro-active use of instant contemporaneous BHR data and how it can be used to put on the front foot and force the Claimant into a position of exchanging data prior to litigation.

We support this strategy with compelling case studies that vividly demonstrate how insurers can approach credit hire claims differently. For instance, in our most recent study of 1000 cases, we achieved tangible savings of £12.8 million pounds, equivalent to 74.1% of claim value, with less than 1% of cases necessitating solicitor involvement. This compelling data is the bedrock of our campaign to spread the word about our innovative approach.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

‘Never be afraid to take a step forward as you can always take a step back and be where you are now’.  It’s advice that has driven me personally and the business forward over many years.  The best advice I give and try to follow myself is that ‘Life is an exchange’, it just means that everyone you deal with wants something/needs something from you and if you can work out what that is and deliver it you can be successful in all you do both at work and personally.

What would be your prediction for the industry in the next year?

I anticipate insurers to focus more on prevention rather than the cure. By that I mean that they will look more towards their own or outsourced FNOL provider to improve intervention capture.  With that in mind we created our own solution, ‘Intervene’. Our unique approach utilises BHR data to combat Claimant challenges and provides the ultimate defence against credit hire charges, ensuring efficient claims resolution in the insurers favour.  Intervene using state of the art cloud-based Azure servers and can be used via a secure bespoke portal or through full/partial API integration, in the same way all our services can.

How would you like to see the insurance industry change by the time you retire – what is next for your business?

I would like the insurance industry to stop using any of our competitors and switch to BHR Insurance Services 😊

On a serious note, we never stop.  At BHR Assist Insurance Services we are always moving forward; innovation and product development is key.  We work closely with each and everyone of our clients to maximise the benefits of BHR data and design all aspect of their journey with us specifically with them starting with their own unique bespoke portal. I would like to see insurers developing their BHR MI and forming strategies around the data we provide.  That’s why we are proving API to API free BHR data to insurers on every credit hire claim at no cost.  In the long-term this will help insurers understand the benefits of the protocols they are in with some CHO’s and be able to assist when and when not to intervene on claims.   Insurers using our products can understand their hire reserve position much better and thus have more control.