The ABI has updated its Salvage Code of Practice, to bring the guidance in line with new vehicle technology.
Setting out detailed guidance for insurers and salvage firms regarding how written-off vehicles should be categorised, the voluntary code helps ensure that unsafe vehicles and parts are not put back onto our roads.
After extensive collaboration with industry stakeholders – including insurers, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), and Thatcham Research – the updates improve the clarity of the salvage code and its vehicle categorisation and disputes processes, and reflects changes brought on by rapidly advancing vehicle technologies.
The updated Salvage Code of Practice now brings electric and hybrid vehicles within its guidance, and considers megacasting,1 reusable parts, and other advanced vehicle construction methods. It also features improved wording for different vehicle types, such as Heavy Goods Vehicles and motorcycles. The Code was last updated in 2019.
Mark Shepherd, Head of General Insurance Policy at the ABI, said:
By ensuring that consumers have transparency about the history of vehicles they are considering buying, the salvage code is a great example of the insurance industry working together to make the UK’s roads safer. It’s important the code moves with the times, and this update reflects the increasing sophistication of our vehicles, including new powertrains and construction methods.
Mark Shepherd
ABI Head of General Insurance Policy
Footnotes
1 A process in vehicle manufacturing for producing large metal parts using high-pressure die casting (HPDC).
To accurately identify which cars should be broken for scrap (and not returned to the road) and to identify which cars are repairable and can return to the road, insurers use the Salvage Code to categorise damaged vehicles into one of four categories:
A: Scrap
B: Break
S: Structurally damaged repairable
N: Non-structurally damaged repairable
Typically, a vehicle is deemed a total loss when a repair is uneconomical, or unviable from a safety perspective.
When an insurer deems a vehicle as a total loss for financial reasons, rather than because it is unsafe, it would be a waste to crush it. The harvesting of usable parts from total-loss vehicles enables them to re-enter the value chain and prevent their value from being lost.
The Salvage Code of Practice is a voluntary code which was brought about by the ABI because there is no regulation relating to written-off vehicles. It was pursued to help ensure that dangerous vehicles do not end up back the road. All ABI member motor insurers support the Salvage Code of Practice and adhere to its provisions. We continue to call for the Salvage Code to be put in statutory footing.