Every year Ageas Insurance deals with around 40,000i cars that have been damaged in crashes, requiring an estimated 400,000 plastic and metal parts to make them roadworthy again.
As new parts can cost more than the value of a car, perfectly repairable and much-loved older vehicles are sometimes condemned to the scrap heap. Using reclaimed car parts has various benefits. For example, sourcing a green part for an older vehicle may be quicker than waiting for a new part to become available.
Ageas Insurance, the UK’s fourthii largest motor insurer, is now working with its car repair network to give customers the chance to have their car economically repaired using a green, or recycled, car part that’s been saved from another car. The parts are genuine manufacturer parts taken from another vehicle. They are all quality controlled by a specialist supplier, given a 12-month guarantee and checked by the repairer before they are used. Of course, safety is paramount and green parts aren’t used when a safety-related car part needs replacing.
Reusing these refurbished parts reduces the likelihood of cars being scrapped for economic reasons.
It also reduces the amount of plastic and metal that is discarded despite being fit for use.
“These parts are called ‘green’ because they save a car from being written off and prevent a new part from having to be manufactured. It is better than recycling; it is reducing demand for precious resources and giving new purpose to good parts that would otherwise be discarded,” said Robin Challand, Ageas Claims Director.
Ian Hill is from Hills, the UK’s largest vehicle dismantler and the company behind the Green Parts Specialists on-line sourcing platform. He said:
“Our industry-wide platform has enabled the UK’s leading dismantlers to put warrantied used original parts back into circulation. It provides Ageas’s network of repair shops with a reliable parts source and so more and more of them are signing up to use it. Ageas is to be commended for taking a lead among insurers and I’m sure the rest of the industry will want to follow suit.”
Ros Hanson from Halo Vehicle Repairs who repair vehicles for Ageas customers said:
“Across the six sites that Halo operates we spend approximately £2.6m each year on car parts. Most of these are brand new but wherever it’s appropriate we will use green car parts.
It’s such a waste to throw things away that have many years of useful life left. Whether you call them green or recycled parts, they can make a real difference to the impact the automobile industry has on the environment.”
Ageas is one of the largest general insurers in the United Kingdom, providing insurance to around five million customers. It offers car and home, travel and small business insurance through brokers, affinity partners and its own brands. Customers are able to buy Ageas branded car and homeinsurance direct from ageas.co.uk. Ageas UK holds a majority share in Tesco Underwriting, providing home and motor insurance to Tesco Bank customers. Ageas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ageas Group, which is listed on the Belgium stock exchange.
Currently 3.4% of Ageas customers’ cars are repaired using green parts. An average of two green parts are used in each of these repairs.
i The total number of vehicles repaired by Ageas in 2018 was 42,112
ii Ageas was ranked as the fourth largest Domestic Motor insurer in the ABI’s General Insurance Company
Rankings by Gross Written Premium published in September 2018.
