The world of motor claims is fast-moving, particularly with the current trends of EV adoption, AI integration, and consolidation of key players across the claims supply chain.
Activate Group has worked in partnership with some of the UK’s leading insurers, fleets, and brokers for more than 10 years, helping them develop smarter claims & repair processes, and deliver market-leading customer journeys for policyholders involved in road incidents.
Here, as we step into the New Year, we explore some of the key trends and priorities likely to shape insurers’ strategies over the next 12 months.
Reflecting on 2025 in motor claims
“2025 saw ongoing evolution across the claims supply chain – from repairers upskilling to cater for the latest generation of vehicles, to insurers integrating new AI-led solutions to streamline their core processes.”
“44% of bodyshops reported lower repair volumes, as fewer policyholders submit claims, particularly for own-damage, and safety tech like ADAS shows tangible results in incident reduction – particularly for low-speed collisions. More bodyshops invested in in-house ADAS calibration, too, with 50% bringing alignments in house according to the NBRA.
However, the complexity of many of these technologies has continued to add upwards pressure to cycle times and repair costs, prompting insurers, repairers, and industry regulators to seek closer working relationships with manufacturers.
In addition, 2025 saw very high total loss rates, which insurers now hope to reduce because of the cost and poor customer experience associated with it, In addition it means there is a risk the customer may reinsure elsewhere, so there is a focus at the end of 2025 moving into 2026 to repair more and total loss less.
All-in-all, 2025 saw more of a focus on customer Journey excellence and cost reduction. Cost pressures as a result of higher operating costs and a reduction in repair volumes have led to an explosion of PE backed repairer groups.” – Chris Ryder
What trends will shape the motor claims industry in 2026?
From AI integration, to customer journey optimisation, and OEM engagement, here are some of the trends and talking points likely to dominate the motor claims industry in 2026.
#1 – More engagement between insurers and OEMs?
The new year will likely see insurers and their suppliers pursue more direct engagement with vehicle manufacturers, in order to gain a stronger understanding of repair requirements, improve claims outcomes, and benefit from discounts on parts & OEM-approved repairs.
Adapting to the latest generation of vehicles
The latest generation of vehicles are more complex than ever before, with connected technologies, advanced safety systems, batteries, and unique repair requirements all presenting challenges for the claims supply chain.
By engaging directly with OEMs on these issues, insurers and their repair partners can improve their understanding of the latest makes/models, and deliver quicker, more cost-effective claims outcomes.
Engagement with OEM total loss avoidance schemes
With total loss rates hitting record highs, insurers are seeking direct OEM support to keep more of their customers’ vehicles on the road post-incident. Manufacturer-sponsored total loss avoidance schemes can provide insurers with discounts on genuine parts & components, helping them keep more claims below total loss thresholds.
Engaging with these schemes not only helps insurers reduce claims payouts and repair outlay, but also supports more positive outcomes for policyholders – boosting trust and reputation.
Ensuring OEM capability within repair networks
With more ‘premium’ and high value vehicles on our roads than ever before, policyholders are increasingly requesting OEM-approved repairers post-incident, especially in the case of non-fault claims.
Insurers are therefore seeking to expand OEM accreditations & capabilities within their repair networks, helping to avoid the need to go out-of-network for these repairs, which often leads to inflated and uncontrollable costs.
#2 – A greater focus on fraud interception?
Studies show that motor insurance fraud is on the rise, especially complex cases which can be difficult to intercept early in the claims process.
The ABI reported that in 2023 alone, fraudulent claims cost insurers over £1bn, with more than 84,000 cases identified in 12 months.
Insurers are therefore looking for smarter ways to spot the early signs of fraud, using new methods, and advanced technology to prevent its occurrence.
Spotting the early signs of complex fraud
Motor insurance fraud can be challenging to spot in its early stages, particularly immediately after an incident where safety and speed of reporting often take priority.
Insurers are therefore applying more focus to ensuring their suppliers, particularly at FNOL and triage stage, are equipped with the training and processes to intercept potential fraud.
This includes adapting incident reporting processes to include specific fraud checks, training handlers to spot the signs of exaggerated claims, staged incidents, etc, and implementing stronger escalation processes when fraud is suspected.
Embracing AI in the fraud detection process
AI is proving to be a powerful tool for assisting insurers in fraud detection. Models can be trained on historic cases to understand early warning signs and common traits in fraudulent claims, and triage reports in real-time to provide a risk score.
Introducing SafetyNet AI – Intelligent fraud detection by Activate Group
SafetyNet is an AI-powered FNOL validation tool, which sits within our proprietary claims management system to screen incident reports in real-time for signs of fraud, and suggest the best next steps for each claim.
Using data from hundreds of thousands of historic claims, SafetyNet reviews FNOL details as they’re inputted by the handler, or as they arrive via a digital report. This wealth of historic data enables the algorithm to assess accuracy, causation, and liability – and intercept common fraud markers immediately to minmise risk.
Get in touch for more information
3 – More consolidation in the claims supply chain?
Both the motor insurance and vehicle repair markets have witnessed significant consolidation over the past 18 months, with acquisitions and mergers taking place amongst some of the industry’s biggest players.
With shifting consumer preferences, and a greater reliance on historic data to fuel underwriting & repair strategies, this trend is likely to continue into the new year.
Insurer consolidation
The past 18 months have seen major consolidation amongst some of the UK’s best-known insurers, including Aviva’s acquisition of Direct Line Group in July. This move saw brands like Churchill and Privilege brought under the Aviva umbrella of brands, representing a significant share of the personal lines market.
Repairer & supplier consolidation
Acquisitions and mergers have also dominated the claims supply chain over the past year, bodyshop groups & repair networks joining forces, acquisitions of independent repairers, and the emergence of Private Equity-backed repair groups.
#4 – More appetite for practical AI applications?
Artificial Intelligence has become far more than a cross-industry buzzword over the past 12 months, with insurers and their suppliers increasingly finding practical applications to enhance their day-to-day processes.
With the pace of this technology only increasing, and appetite for adoption increasing, it’s likely that 2026 will bring even more solutions and applications for machine-led analysis and decision making.
Damage detection & vehicle triage
Visual AI is increasingly being used by both insurers and fleet operators to assess vehicle damage post-incident, and understand its repair requirements in detail.
By using images/video uploaded by the policyholder (increasingly real-time in-app scanning) insurers are able to identify damage more quickly, make repair/total loss decisions sooner, and ensure the right solution is deployed the first time around.
sopp+sopp, Activate Group’s specialist fleet division, launched its FleetScout product in 2025, which uses our proprietary visual AI to help operators track and maintain vehicle condition. The technology has also helped Tesco reduce damage costs at its Peterborough distribution centre by 18%, proving its ability to spot and categorise damage with high accuracy – for swift intervention.
Claims automation & accuracy checks
AI is helping insurers and their partners automate routine processes – particularly when it comes to traiging claims and incident reports.
Smart tools are already being integrated with claims management systems & incident reporting tools to assess claims circumstances in real-time, suggest next steps to handlers, and flag areas of inaccuracy/inconsistency in claims data.
As these tools become more common, and benefit from more training data, it’s likely appetite for their applications will only increase throughout the claims process.
Predictive analysis to inform underwriting strategies
With vehicle repair requirements, and ultimately costs, becoming so unique across different makes/models, AI is becoming a powerful tool for helping insurers develop more tailored underwriting strategies.
Machine learning & AI algorithms can help insurers analyse real-time claims data at scale, in granular detail, to track trends on a make/model basis, enabling them to develop more responsive pricing strategies.
#5 – A focus on streamlining the customer journey?
Since the introduction of the FCA’s Consumer Duty regulation in 2023, the insurance industry has devoted even more investment and resource to streamlining the policyholder experience, and ensuring accessibility for vulnerable customers.
With insurers now required to report customer metrics annually, and evidence optimisations they’ve made to improve outcomes, this trend is likely to only accelerate in 2026 and beyond.
Strengthening customer benchmarking processes
Insurers are devoting more attention to collecting customer experience data, like NPS scores and pulse surveys, in order to benchmark customer satisfaction, and evidence the success of their optimisations.
Insurers are increasingly implementing NPS surveys at key touchpoints in the claims process – such as post FNOL, throughout the claims process, and upon repair completion in order to identify both successes and pitfalls in their supply chains.
Ensuring accessibility across all channels
Accessibility is becoming an essential focus for insurers across all their customer-facing channels, as one of the key requirements laid out by the Consumer Duty framework.
Insurers must ensure all policyholders can easily access the contact routes, channels, and information they need throughout the claims process – no matter their communication needs or preferences.
The claims supply chain is therefore devoting more attention to upholding hybrid communication processes – such as using both digital and telephone channels – and identifying customer needs early in the process for a more tailored experience.
Creating a compelling digital claims journey
With consumer demand weighing increasingly towards online or app-based customer journeys, insurers are investing heavily in digital transformation across key claims processes – from premium purchase to claims delivery.
Throughout the claims supply chain, insurers and their partners are increasingly prioritising connected, on-brand digital journeys to take customers from incident reporting to repair completion in one place.
It’s likely that 2026 will see insurers further increase their focus to digital transformation, connecting their core systems with consumer-facing applications to facilitate seamless journeys, and on-demand access to claims information.
In Summary:
As we look ahead to 2026, the motor claims landscape is set to evolve at pace, driven by technology, collaboration, and changing customer expectations.
Insurers will continue to strengthen ties with OEMs to navigate increasingly complex repair requirements and mitigate total loss rates.
Fraud prevention will remain high on the agenda, with AI playing a pivotal role in early detection and risk management. Consolidation across insurers, repair networks, and suppliers is likely to accelerate, reshaping the market and influencing competitive dynamics.
Practical applications of AI will become even more embedded in claims processes, from damage detection to predictive underwriting, while digital transformation will underpin efforts to deliver seamless, accessible customer journeys.
In short, 2026 promises to be a year of innovation, integration, and strategic focus across every link in the claims supply chain.
