On 12 July the green parts issue in motor claims took another turn with the acquisition of Hills Salvage by Copart.
Copart explained that it will leverage Hills’ ‘The Green Parts Specialist’ brand to create a UK centre of excellence for the use of these parts in repairs.
A ‘green part’ is taken from one vehicle to repair another as an alternative to using brand new manufacturers’ parts.
Five years ago, there was very little interest in this beyond an intellectual debate about the need for the industry to ‘do something’ about the climate crisis.
Hills has been working with the insurer Ageas - which had been using green car parts since 2019 – since 2020, integrating salvage operations and green parts provision into its repair network.
Besides being better for the planet, the initiative means customers get their vehicles repaired and back on the road much more quickly, as it is quicker to source a green part than wait for a manufacturers part, often imported from abroad.
During the current crisis in the motor claims supply chain, the value of a separate parts distribution chain, especially one that is climate friendly, cannot be under-estimated.
The green parts revolution also underlines how industry turmoil, in this case soaring claims inflation, resulted in the slaying of sacred cows (customers would never countenance anything other than original equipment manufacturer or OEM-supplied parts) and the emergence of a new means of repairing vehicles that is much more in tune with the current zeitgeist.
Cooperation between supplier and insurer to bring to life a shared vision of green parts also provides a lesson to other parts of the insurance industry.
In respect of the problems we are currently facing in claims, a spirit of genuine cooperation can help customers, reduce friction, cut costs and benefit the environment. Legal services (claimant and defendant), mobility providers, repairers and insurers…… take note.