The credit hire industry has made significant headway in its discussions with motor insurers regarding the scope of a revised general terms agreement (GTA), a voluntary protocol aimed at streamlining credit hire claims.
According to Anthony Hughes, chair of the Credit Hire Organisation (CHO), the talks have entered an important stage, with insurers providing a “measured and helpful” response to the CHO’s position paper prepared by its specialist GTA working group.
In his statement, Hughes called the revised agreement a necessary step to address “seismic changes” in the motor claims market over the past two years, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
He also stressed the need for the GTA to be more adaptable to market volatility, adding that the major operational issues under discussion centre around hire rates and vehicle groupings.
“We have long argued that [the GTA] needs to flex and adapt to better reflect market volatility, and finding a solution, or GTA2 if you like, has been top of our agenda for the last few months,” he said.
Working toward this goal, Hughes said insurers have proposed a new methodology and framework to capture vehicle groups, and progress has been made on reaching an agreement on rates.
As for matters that require further attention in the ongoing negotiations, he noted that there is still work to be done on governance, such as the role and authority of an independent GTA chairperson, as well as dispute resolution, removal of ambiguities within the agreement, and data management.
“We very much welcome the response from our insurer partners on the GTAS review and believe there is commitment from all sides to conclude the discussions with a revised GTA that is fit for purpose for the 2020s,” Hughes said. “We are seeking to arrange a meeting of the relevant parties at the end of June and will hope to update our members and interested parties in July.”
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