ALLIANZ ANNOUNCES RESPONSIBLE SALVAGE HANDLING

Allianz Insurance has changed its approach to categorising salvage vehicles to help improve road safety in the UK.

The move has been prompted by concerns that other arrangements risked allowing written-off vehicles to be repaired and sold to new owners. There was also a risk that the new owner might not realise the vehicle had been written off.

To address these concerns, Allianz now categorises all total loss salvage that has suffered impact, flood, fire, or safety related damage as A, B, C or D using the ABI Salvage Code of Practice and the Engineering Technical Committee (ETC) guidelines. Allianz will not be using the section that applies to 'unrecorded salvage'.

The inspecting engineer will now also consider the phrase ‘Can, Could, Would and Should’ the salvage be repaired. If it is considered irreparable, it will be categorised as ‘B’, broken and removed from the public domain.

All total loss vehicles will be fully estimated using original equipment parts and full bodyshop labour rates, and all salvage categorisation will be agreed with Allianz’s salvage partner Car Transplants Ltd. In order to enhance the inspecting, estimating and categorisation process, Allianz will now also have engineers permanently stationed onsite at Car Transplants Ltd.

The Motor Insurers Anti-Theft and Fraud Register will be notified of salvage within 48 hours following the engineer’s inspection and categorisation.

All category A and B salvage will be broken in-house by Car Transplants Ltd, and a Certificate or Notification of Destruction (COD or NOD) will be issued to DVLA within seven days following bodyshell destruction. These measures will minimise the risk of written-off vehicles returning to the road and create an audit trail improving the process of checks on second-hand vehicles.

Ian Guest, claims supply manager, Allianz Insurance, said: “While the previous arrangements were entirely legal, as a responsible insurer we have a moral duty to safeguard the public.”

He added: “Hopefully this will create a better way of working and other insurers will follow our lead. It’s a simple matter of doing the right thing.”

ENDS