The uptake of green parts is increasing across motor claims repairs as repairers, and their customers begin to recognise their numerous benefits.
Activate Group are committed to shifting the perception of green parts in vehicle repairs – helping fleets, insurers, their drivers, and customers to recognise the benefits of sustainable repairs. In this article, they discuss how the industry can seek to change the perception of green parts in motor claims and communicate the benefits to their customers.
What are customers’ concerns surrounding green parts?
Motor claims customers often have concerns about using green parts in their vehicle repair. If left unresolved, these concerns may lead to customers turning down green parts at the repair stage. They include:
The safety, quality, and reliability of green parts
One of the key concerns customers have about green parts is their safety, quality, and reliability when compared with brand-new components. This usually provokes questions surrounding their projected longevity and ability to meet the same safety standards as OEM parts.
Their impact on vehicle value
When repairing personal vehicles, customers may worry about the impact of green/second-hand parts on their car’s value. This is especially the case for owners of higher-value vehicles, who often believe that using aftermarket or second-hand parts could impact the resale price.
Our approach to alleviating these concerns:
Alleviating customers’ concerns means educating them on the benefits and quality assurances provided by green parts.
We take this approach with both our personal lines customers at Motor Repair Network and commercial fleet customers through sopp+sopp – as well as any third parties we deal with.
Activate Group also houses its own internal parts aggregator, Activate Parts, through which we maintain relationships with green parts suppliers. This provides us with insight as to the wider, best-practice use of green parts within the industry – which we pass on to our customers.
Here are some of the actions we’re taking to build customers’ confidence in green part repairs:
Educating customers on the benefits
Customers are more likely to accept a green-part repair if they’re made aware of the benefits, such as their ability to reduce repair delays and get their vehicle back on the road sooner.
This means taking time to educate the customer on the potential time and cost-saving benefits of green parts, helping to inform their final decision.
Activate Group provides repair customers and third parties with a digital leaflet covering the benefits of green parts, as well as the safety and quality assurances by which they must abide.
This helps to trigger conversations with customers about any specific questions they may have, allowing our team to inform and reassure them directly.
Alleviating safety & quality concerns
The same principle of education applies when addressing customers’ concerns about the safety & quality of green parts.
Many of these concerns, such as the potential impact on vehicle value, are derived from common misconceptions surrounding second-hand parts.
Activate Group works to educate customers on the safety and quality standards set for green parts and address any concerns directly.
Stephen Durrant, Senior Engineer at sopp+sopp, comments:
“We use educational resources, like the leaflet, to support a conversation with the customer directly, assuring them that it is still a genuine part, and still guarantees the same end result as new parts.”
The benefits we communicate to claims customers:
Here are some of the benefits we highlight when discussing green parts with our customers:
#1 – Combating vehicle repair delays
Global parts supply chain issues, coupled with high demand for repair capacity, are leading to delays in repairing customers’ vehicles.
Green parts can be an effective way to mitigate these delays, thanks to their much greater and quicker availability compared to new OEM parts.
#2 – Bringing claims costs down
Green parts are often much cheaper to source than brand-new components. This helps to minimise the cost of individual repairs – bringing claims costs down across the board.
For personal lines customers, this could mean lower insurance premiums in the long run, as uptake of green parts increases and brings down the average cost to repair.
In commercial fleets, this directly impacts companies’ operating costs – allowing them to spend less on vehicle repair while also getting vehicles back on the road more quickly.
#3 – Driving a more sustainable repair process
Both fleets and personal lines costumes are becoming more sustainability-conscious. Using green parts is a great way to reduce the carbon footprint of individual repairs while reducing the number of reusable parts sent to landfill.
This is especially beneficial for companies operating fleets of vehicles, who are often keen to remain in line with their carbon footprint & sustainability pledges.
Are green parts becoming more popular in motor claims?
In personal claims
A recent study found that 82% of drivers would accept a second-hand part if it were to be offered during a repair.
However, the study also found that only 13% of drivers had been offered a green part by their repairer – posing the question as to whether they’re being utilised effectively in personal claims.
This suggests that uptake could currently be limited as a consequence of insurers’ own repair policies rather than the preference of their customers.
For commercial fleets
Commercial fleets are beginning to see the benefits of using green parts in their repair strategy.
Since fleets often use many of the same or similar vehicles, parts can be stored in-house when salvaged from end-of-life or total loss vehicles and recycled internally for a quick, sustainable, and cost-effective supply.
The uptake of green parts in commercial fleets has increased in light of the recent supply chain issues affecting the automotive industry.
Harnessing green parts allows companies to mitigate these inflated waiting times, getting vehicles back on the road with fewer delays – and without relying on new parts manufacturing or delivery.
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All images courtesy of Activate Group
