Copart's presence in the UK may convince insurers of the merits of recycled parts
Getting insurers on board with using recycled parts is an uphill battle, the chairman of British Vehicle Salvage Federation has said.
In April, Alan Greenouff said BVSF’s scheme to encourage insurers to use recycled parts—supplied by the federation’s members— fizzled, despite claims it could save the industry £200m.
The problem is, with the exception of a small minority – namely Allianz— insurers just aren’t convinced.
Pushes in the past by companies such as CIS, Highway, Fortis, Admiral and Provident were deemed unsuccessful because of lack of interest on the part of policyholders and repairers.
Heavyweights Norwich Union and Royal Bank of Scotland have remained sceptical of the benefits of recycled parts citing myriad of concerns including, safety, interest of policyholders and access to and availability of parts.
Allianz has been the only UK insurer to implement a successful recycled parts pilot which it said saved the company £240 per £1,000 claim. Allianz also said take up on the offer was around 25% by its policyholders.
The problem is, Greenouff has said, insurers are not going to widely adopt a recycled-parts program until companies are convinced it will save money, regardless of environment benefits.
Greenouff hopes a change in attitude might arise with the relatively recent acquisition and rebranding of Universal Salvage by American company Copart, which has a successful track record of recycled parts partnerships with companies in the U.S.
Copart has plans to work with insurers in the UK to expand on the use of recycled parts by offering incentives such as its database CoPartfinder. Copart claims the database is the single largest source of recycled automobile parts, which will make it easy to locate and procure parts.
Despite failed attempts in the past, there has been a renewed focus on climate change, particularly following June and July’s devastating floods, and a growing interest by insurers wanting to go green.
It’s clear more research may be needed to convince the naysayers, particularly if saving money is the name of the game. But insurers should take comfort in the successful statistics put forward by recycled parts trailblazer Allianz.
Insurers in the United States and Canada have also had success with policyholders choosing recycled parts, particularly if the cars are older or badly damaged.
Greenouff said when it comes to change, insurers tend to move at a snail’s pace, but the time for change is now.
