AkzoNobel announces repair process improvements
AkzoNobel UK has signed up to Arval Total Care, promising immediate and significant improvements to accident rates and repair processes on its car and van UK fleet.
The Arval Total Care product consists of a vehicle insurance and an accident management solution for businesses, with a simple pricing structure based on a charge per vehicle.
AkzoNobel UK Fleet Manager, Karl Allward, said: “Risk management is an area that we take very seriously. All of our drivers undergo an annual online assessment, plus an in-car exercise every three to four years. There are even corporate bursaries available to fund classroom training for drivers who we feel would benefit from additional support.
“Previously, we simply felt that we weren’t making much progress in terms of driving down our incident rate, plus when repairs were needed, getting vehicles back on the road was often slower and more difficult than we expected.
“The biggest change is really the simplest, with the entire insurance and repair process sitting with one provider and one phone number. So if there is an incident, both we and our drivers know who to call, and the resulting process is slick and efficient.
“One specific point which has been resolved is that previously we had issues with completed vehicles not being released by repairers, thanks to the need to pay the excess and VAT in advance. Again, because everything is now centralised with one supplier, this is a problem that never arises. As soon as a car or van is fixed, it’s available to us.
“The repair process is also faster and, as a result, we are saving money on daily rental and reducing other costs associated with vehicles being off the road. These soon used to mount up under the previous system, but we now feel as though everything is being much more closely and effectively managed. The areas of frustration that we previously identified around our fleet insurance and accident management all feel as though they have been resolved.”
