AXA UK WITHDRAWS FROM CREDIT HIRE AGREEMENT

Axa UK said this morning that it was withdrawing its support for the General Trading Agreement (GTA) for credit hire, the businesses that provide accident courtesy cars for not-at-fault drivers, giving them a period of credit to allow the rental charges to be recovered from the at-fault party. About 500,000 credit hire claims are made each year in the UK. Axa UK said that from September 7 all new hires would be looked at on a case-by-case basis, rather than under the Association of British Insurers GTA. The insurer said that credit hire costs accounted for up to 10% of premiums, and that this proportion was growing as the credit hire operators increase market penetration. Axa UK claims managing director David Williams said that “our new operating model means that an opportunity arises for us to work more closely with a number of Credit Hire Operators who share our desire to take the frictional costs out of managing what should be straight forward claims. This has not been an easy decision but we believe it is the right one for our business and our customers”. Axa UK’s managing director of personal lines intermediary Mike Keating said that the company had made its position “very clear” over the past few months and that he did not think brokers would be “particularly surprised” by the decision.