Sustainable damage repair: what insurers do (3)

Just before the summer, the Association drew up a manifesto. Together with Schoonmakend Nederland and NIVRE, the Association wants sustainable damage repair to be commonplace by the end of 2024. How far along are insurers? What do they do? What can they do? In a series on sustainable damage repair, various insurers have their say. In this third part, the story of Unigarant.

Guido Evertz is sustainability manager at Unigarant and doesn't turn his heart into a murder pit. He calls the manifesto incredibly good. "It's nice that it's here and that we're joining forces. We can do much more if we work together and share our knowledge with each other. We are very open. Everyone is welcome to take a look in our kitchen. For example, when it comes to our CO2 reduction, but we are also happy to share our green ambition for sustainable damage repair with the various chain partners."

A look behind the scenes

Unigarant embraced sustainability years ago and has been fleshing it out into a vision since 2021. "We call this Sustainable on the Road for a liveable world and opt for three themes: emission, circularity and social sustainability," Evertz explains.
The insurer, which operates under the wings of the ANWB, tries to manifest itself in various ways. Evertz: "With our products and our damage repair, we want to minimize the footprint per household and the damage. After all, why do you need to replace an entire countertop or an entire floor when you can repair the damage? We have been talking to our repairers since 2017 to promote sustainable damage repair. Bodyshops also have to meet various sustainability requirements in order to work with us."
For example, the contracts stipulate that repairers must be affiliated with Certified Sustainable, Ecovadis, Green Done or an equivalent quality mark that supports sustainable damage repair.

Circular glass

In day-to-day practice, this policy leads, for example, to Unigarant offering circular glass when window damage is reported on the home insurance policy in the Utrecht, Almere and Amstelveen regions. "Circular glass is still a bit more expensive at the moment, but we take that for granted, because we are happy to support such developments. It is a pity that customers often still see circular glass as second-hand. That mindset really needs to change," says Evertz. "The end product has the same quality guarantees, lifespan and quality marks as regular glass."
Another example he gives concerns repairing broken smartphones and tablets instead of replacing them. "We take this a step further and provide free protective covers after a screen repair. That's just a small thing, but it does help. If a customer drops their smartphone, the screen is not immediately broken again."

Air-drying varnish

The last example Evertz gives has to do with a new development. "Our bodyshops in the automotive industry are increasingly using air-drying paints. The big difference with traditional spraying is that the ambient temperature takes care of the drying process. The word says it all, the varnish dries in the air from a room temperature of twenty degrees. Previously, a room the size of a small passenger car had to be heated to sixty degrees Celsius. In addition, the air-drying paints are dust-dry after about 25 minutes, resulting in optimal use of the spray booth. In addition to labour and time, it saves a lot of energy and therefore CO2."

Continuous conversation

The energy consumption in damage repair is enormous anyway, Evertz emphasizes. "That's why we think it's so important to stay on top of things and follow all the latest developments. Last week, for example, we went to a local car repair shop with our claims handlers. We were able to see with our own eyes how the industry is becoming more sustainable and how repair is being preferred over replacement."
He especially likes the reactions afterwards. "These working visits are instructive and our claims handlers become even more enthusiastic about promoting sustainable damage repair when they have seen for themselves how it works. That is also important, because if a customer has doubts about circular glass, because it sounds like second-hand, it is up to our claims handler to convince that customer of the quality of the glass and to 'sell' him the sustainable solution."

Guido Evertz: "We are putting even more emphasis on prevention. If there's no damage, there's no emissions."

Focus on prevention

Recently, Unigarant has started to focus (even more) on prevention in its sustainability policy. "If there's no damage, there's no emissions," Evertz said.
In other words, prevention is even better than recovery. Reason enough for Unigarant to start a Prevention project that is to be rolled out further next year. "We all know the prevention tips you get when you take out insurance, but we would like to go a step further and, for example, actively inform our customers before a storm. Easier said than done, because how do you reach as many customers as possible in a certain region through a so-called early warning system?"

Thinking in terms of prevention

Learning to think in terms of prevention as part of sustainability and not just in terms of repair or replacement requires creativity from the sector and the chain partners, Evertz believes. "If a customer has a car damage, you can offer them sustainable replacement transport. An electric car, scooter or an ebike. Maybe there's even a place available where he can work for a while until the car is repaired."
There are already many possibilities to unburden the customer and at the same time have a sustainable solution available, Evertz concludes, but he still has one big wish. "With Audatax, we have a system that allows us to record and also calculate vehicle damage. I would like to see a kind of Audata Xonomy that allows us to make recovery calculations based on CO2 and/or circularity. Then we really show that the third key point of the manifesto, the price is not always leading, is serious about us. In any case, it would be my ideal world if there were a central database in which, in addition to the euros, the recovery in CO2 standards is also calculated."