Adrian Furness speaks out about CMA motor insurance reforms

Covéa Insurance’s Claims Director, Adrian Furness, is a passionate advocate for both consumers and the insurance industry. He believes that the recent CMA ruling on practices in the motor insurance market, which was intended to improve the way the market operates and benefit consumers, was a ‘missed opportunity’.

Adrian explains:

“This is a really disappointing outcome and represents a missed opportunity to remove some of the dysfunctional elements of the motor insurance market. In particular, the failure to ban referral fees for credit hire is perverse, given the banning of referral fees for injuries under the LASPO reforms.

In addition, the failure to reform both the process and the excessive cost of replacement vehicles, sourced under a credit agreement, will continue to encourage the wrong behaviours and result in additional costs being passed on to the customer in the form of higher insurance premiums.

Finally, the complete failure to address subrogation now legitimises the practice of claiming back costs that are higher than the actual cost of repair. In doing so, I expect that not only have the CMA maintained the status quo, but the unintended consequence is that they have given free reign for others to maximise margins. Again the result is that costs will increase which inevitably means higher insurance premiums. This study has cost the taxpayer a significant amount of money and you really have to question what have they received in return.”

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About Covéa Insurance

Covéa Insurance Plc is the UK underwriting business of leading French mutual insurance group Covéa (which includes the global reinsurer PartnerRe since July 2022). 

Covéa Insurance looks after the insurance needs of UK customers, across a range of product lines; delivering financial reassurance through its Standard & Poor’s ‘AA- stable’ rating, as a guaranteed subsidiary of Covéa.  

Covéa Insurance has a strong people and service ethos and holds ServiceMark accreditation with Distinction for its Personal Lines operation and its Commercial & HNW Claims teams, as well as Chartered Insurer status for its Commercial business. Covéa Insurance is signatory to the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and the insurance Inclusivity Pledge and has been named one of the top 75 employers in West Yorkshire & the Humber. In 2022 Covéa Insurance was named Insurer of the Year at the British Claims Awards and Personal Lines Insurer of the Year at the Insurance Times Awards.