Kindertons Accident Management Supplement

OUR REPAIR NETWORK – ANOTHER
VITAL COG IN THE MACHINE
If you bumped into anyone from Kindertons at an industry
event and asked them to summarise in one line what we do,
the chances are they wouldn’t just say ‘we’re a credit hire
organisation’. You’re far more likely to hear the terms ‘motor
claims partner’ or ‘we’re a specialist service provider who offer
a full claims management solution’.
There is a very deliberate distinction here – recognising the
service we offer to our business partners and their customers
is so much more than just picking up the phone and arranging
delivery of a replacement hire vehicle.
If you consider the needs of a customer who has been involved
in an accident, of course they will need to initially report the
claim and the chances are there may be a requirement to
provide them with a replacement vehicle.
But in order to provide a full claims management and mobility
solution, we also need to offer a number of ‘ancillary’ services.
These could range widely from vehicle valuations, theft
handling and total loss management to vehicle recovery,
storage and salvage.
And what about the repair of their damaged vehicle in cases
where it’s not deemed as a total loss?
For this, we entrust our Kindertons’ Approved Repairer
Network, expertly managed by our in-house bodyshop team,
to provide the best possible repair journey for our customers.
INTRODUCING OUR SPECIALIST REPAIR
EXPERTS
Initially starting out as a small team managing just 50
approved repairers and a number of outsourced repair
networks, the original aim of the bodyshop team was relatively
straightforward. They were responsible for creating a ‘best in
class’, industry-compliant repair network.
By this, we mean a repair network that offers a broad spectrum
of manufacturer and specialist material approvals, BS10125
accreditations and who could offer reciprocal non-fault business
– all of which could deliver a superb customer repair journey,
report low complaint volumes and consistently achieve or surpass
any repair management targets set.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It definitely was a challenge to get
this set up at times but I now look back on those early days with
great fondness, pride and a huge sense of satisfaction on what
we were able to achieve – after all, it set the foundations for the
Kindertons’ Approved Repairer Network we now know today.
OUR KINDERTONS APPROVED REPAIRER
NETWORK
Fast forward to 2021 and the Kindertons Approved Repairer
Network now looks substantially different, with nearly 190 fully
approved repairers on hand and ready to expertly manage any
vehicle repairs for our customers.
At first glance, this may seem like quite a high number. But key
to our repair model is the need to remain fully scalable to absorb
any spikes in capacity and ensure we always have the right repair
specialties in place for the ever-growing type and complexity of
vehicle repairs to meet customer requirements.
But it isn’t just the Kindertons Approved Repairer Network
that falls under the remit of the bodyshop team. Some of our
long-term business partners manage a large number of vehicle
manufacturer schemes, who each require their own manufacturer
approved repairers. We therefore work in close partnership
with these repairers to ensure the very best repair is undertaken
for customers and we protect the brand reputation of the
manufacturers at all times.
During the triage process, if we identify any cases where we
believe the vehicle damage is relatively minor, we may also
choose to utilise the expertise of Xpress Centres, a nationwide
body repair work specialist who can offer same-day service. They
specialise in a wide range of car body repair services for dents,
bumps, scratches, scrapes and scuffs to bumpers, wings, doors,
boots, tailgates, bonnets, roofs and headlights. We ensure they
use experienced, trained technicians who use the latest specialist
equipment and approved paints to repair and refinish the
18 Kindertons Supplement