THE Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association has written to the chief executives of Britain's insurance companies demanding action to cut red tape and get damaged vehicles back on the road more quickly. It says members are repairing damage as quickly and cheaply as possible but savings are lost because insurers waste time giving the go-ahead for repairs to be carried out, meaning that cars awaiting repair tie up workshop space and courtesy vehicles have to be provided for longer than necessary.

Alan Bird, development manager for the VBRA, which has more than 2,000 bodyshop members in the UK, welcomed initiatives such as the 'hit-squad' launched by RAC Accident Services, which aims to slash the time damaged vehicles spend off the road by cutting out red tape. The RAC last month launched a nationwide network of Thatcham-tested authorised assessor engineers who will standardise service levels and speed up damage assessment.

Bird said: 'Insurers are not quick enough in reducing approval times and that increases off-road times, which costs us money. We are asking the chief executives of insurance companies for one-to-one meetings to get them to cut delays that are adding to the total costs of the claim.'