Is credit hire ready for electric vehicles?
It certainly needs to be.
The electric car market is growing fast. There are over 260,000 electric cars on UK roads right now, and that’s before we include over 530,000 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). It’s predicted that around 18m battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles will be on the road by 2030.
For a credit hire company to be fully conversant with handling electric vehicles, they must have a complete understanding of the very different demands involved in EV claims and the intricacies of supporting electric vehicle drivers in order to balance their best interests and those of insurers and businesses.
Let’s consider just a few of the factors that make handling an electric vehicle claim different.
An electric vehicle claim requires the credit hire company to have specific EV technical knowledge, such as the type of charger, the voltage and the vehicle range in order to provide the right like for like. The credit hire company also needs to understand specific customer vehicle tech and how customers use it when dealing with an accident.
Even the right recovery vehicle is vital to avoid further damage to an EV and risk to the driver and other road users.
Furthermore, electric vehicle repairers must have specialist training and equipment with specific manufacturer approval, access to parts supply and appropriate technology to diagnose and repair vehicles in a way that avoids customer complaint, extends hire and impacts manufacturer warranty.
And that’s just the tip of the credit hire iceberg.
According to Kirsty McKno, Managing Director of Cogent Hire, part of handl Group, “The repair of electric cars in volume is new. It’s one thing handling the odd electric or hybrid, but understanding issues like who owns the battery pack, its value and how to remove it can change the ordinary into the extraordinary compared to what we are used to. .
“Then there’s the ADAS and telematics within modern cars which offer so much useful data when it comes to estimating the repair, or deciding to class the car as a total loss. This data is something we at Cogent Hire can integrate into the FNOL triage, so that we are approaching the claim differently right from the start.”
With these comments in mind, if a credit hire company is to provide a full and satisfactory EV service, they must take the time to build a skilled and comprehensive supply chain that as a minimum includes:
* Access to appropriate FNOL
* Connected device access
* Accurate, AI-based vehicle triage
* An EV specialist repair network
* EV Recovery that keeps the vehicle and customer safe
* Like for like replacement by brand
* Engineering and valuation that considers the impact of tech upgrade
* Appropriate salvage of the vehicle and its battery
Cogent Hire - driven to be different.
At Cogent Hire, we understand electric vehicles, the EV customer, and why handling an electric claim is different. Our full EV service is built around a forward looking supply chain working to the same agenda and sharing technology solutions in a way that expedites process and looks after the customer.
In the future, drivers of electric vehicles will be better protected as insurers make it their business to understand EV better, to appreciate what makes an EV claim different, and to ensure that EV specific policies are created on a much wider scale to reflect the rapid growth of the EV market. And Cogent Hire is there to help build those policies and provide services that meet the needs of EV policyholders every time.
Said Kirsty, “The credit hire industry needs to step up and ensure that it is fully equipped to provide an exemplary EV service to put customers back on the road as soon as possible. At Cogent Hire, we want to see their claim settled with a minimum amount of disruption, irrespective of whether they are driving an EV or ICE.
“Cogent Hire believe that credit hire should be fair for everyone. Our aim is to build trust between CHCs and insurers, and create a fairer, collaborative way of working. By supporting every involved party, by treating them fairly, and by looking after their interests as well as our own, we can replace friction with fairness.”
To find out more information, contact us.