Vehicle Parts Shortages
Vehicle Parts Shortages
Our parent company RSA Group reported the issues in March 2022. It's been hard to ignore the news on shortages over recent months. We've all spotted empty shelves in supermarkets and queues at the fuel pumps. And the motor industry has been hit too.
During the pandemic, vehicle manufacturing plants shut down, which impacted production and the making of parts: from microchips to seat covers. This has resulted in a global shortage of vehicle parts, which is having a wide impact. Whilst production levels are improving post pandemic, the supply issues still remain. As a result, if you have an accident and need to make a claim, it may take longer to get your vehicle in for a repair. This is affecting all insurers and repairers.
Many industries experienced shortages, delays, or interruptions in service provision due to the fallout from the pandemic. The motor industry is no different. It's still facing many challenges, which may impact the service our repair partners can provide. In short, the time taken to repair your vehicle following an accident is currently longer than we would expect.
Here are some of the main issues:
Microchips
There is still a worldwide shortage of microchips. Modern vehicles use microchips for things like cameras, parking sensors and other driver aids, which can be found in many parts all around the vehicle. This global shortage had resulted in shutdowns at some car manufacturing plants, resulting in the worldwide output of new cars/vans being at an all-time low.
Vehicle Replacement parts
There are delays in getting other vehicle parts such as tailgates, bumpers and body panels. This is due to the worldwide shortage of plastics and continuing issues with the movement of goods. We are all aware of the well-publicised driver shortages in the UK. This has lead to the lack of availability of parts in the UK. This means that many parts need to be ordered from overseas, as stock levels in the UK are low. Most of the UK’s popular vehicle brands are impacted by these shortages. And, in most cases repairers are waiting weeks, or in some cases months, for parts to be delivered.
Staff
Whilst our repair network on the Island is manned by skilled and specialist trained staff, vehicles are becoming more and more complex, meaning some repairs cannot be completed on Island. Whilst these are not the norm, they can add to the delay in getting your vehicle back to you.
Courtesy vehicles
Another problem for repairers is the lack of courtesy vehicles available to replace yours when it is being fixed. One of the benefits of Tower Motor Insurance is a courtesy vehicle while yours is being repaired. Because repairs are taking longer than usual there are more requests for courtesy vehicles and this drives a shortage because more of them are in use, causing a real headache for repairers. This is affecting all insurers and repairers.
Please speak to us or the repairer and we'll try our best to help you.
Finally, we're here for you
We are doing our best to ensure services aren't impacted and any delays are minimal. Our repair network continues to operate a full repair service across the Island.