Ahead of our 2024 Insurance CX Awards at Proud Embankment, London, Modern Insurance Magazine caught up with Stu Sandell, Assistant Vice President for Replacement Sales UK&I at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, to discuss challenges in the motor repair sector, the significance of industry collaboration, and the telltale signs of great customer experience.

Q. Hello Stu, thanks so much for your time today. We’re delighted to have Enterprise on board as a sponsor for the ‘Best Customer Service Product’ category at the 2024 Insurance CX Awards!

You joined Enterprise back in 2001, and have worked your way up through the Management Training Programme in a variety of roles across a number of European markets. Tell me more about your current position, and what your day-to-day looks like.

A. I lead an incredible team whose primary role is to provide mobility solutions to those who don’t have access to their own vehicle because it’s been involved in an incident. We work closely with insurers, brokers, bodyshops, and other stakeholders in the motor claims supply chain.

As Assistant Vice-President for Replacement Sales UK & Ireland, my job is to ensure that this complex supply chain gets the support they need from us at every step.

Enterprise is the UK’s largest provider of replacement vehicles, and our relationships with our partners now stretch far beyond just renting cars. This is because of the depth of experience and expertise that we bring to the table. We help them innovate and deliver mobility in new ways, to solve problems as well as creating repair and technology solutions, helping to better manage their entire claims experience.

My day-to-day work largely focuses on my team and our customers. I speak to insurers and other partners to find out what strategic challenges they’re currently facing, and I ensure that we are constantly evolving our propositions to fit these needs. My team works closely with our partners looking at long-term solutions, while ensuring our day-to-day operations are exceeding the demands of our customers.

Q. What does a great customer experience look like to you, and how does Enterprise set an example for the industry in this regard?

A. Exceptional service is part of Enterprise’s culture and corporate DNA. We measure customer satisfaction using our own bespoke metric, the Service Quality Index, or SQi. Our people are only eligible for promotion if their SQi scores are high enough, and that means everyone is focused on delivering great service every day, one journey at a time.

A great customer experience during an accident and motor claim means providing the right service at the right time. This must keep a driver or policyholder mobile, and help insurers to meet the promises they make to their customers. The aftermath of an accident can be a stressful and challenging time for the end customer, and this is where an exceptional level of support is so critical.

Our network of hundreds of branches and vehicles around the UK puts us close to customers, no matter where they are when they need a car. This means we can get them into a vehicle at the right time, which might be minutes after an incident or when the parts have arrived for a repair. We also work with hundreds of repairers to help put damaged vehicles into repair bays as quickly as possible.

Friendly, understanding people make the experience better. We invest heavily in our branch employees and teams around the UK and support them with the latest claims technology to make the process as efficient and hassle-free as possible for the driver.

Q. How do you work with the accident repair community to streamline the customer journey, and what does this collaboration look like in practice?

A. Our national branch network puts us close to all our customers as well as accident repair centres and other services. We’ve spent almost 30 years building local relationships across the UK with bodyshops, insurers and the whole of the accident repair community to ensure we provide mobility needs for each partner in the supply chain.

We combine this with national relationships with bigger organisations to ensure that everyone has access to the solutions they require.

These relationships are underpinned by dedicated technology designed to streamline the process. Our technology provides insurers, brokers, bodyshops and other stakeholders with real-time, accurate data on which vehicles are being repaired and where, how long it will take, how long customers will need replacement vehicles for, and when they can expect to be back in their own vehicles.

There are significant investments in developing systems that link everyone in the claim supply chain together to create a better customer experience. By collaboratively working to make the process more efficient, we can reduce repair times and keep people mobile.

Q. How have recent challenges in the motor repair industry been felt over at Enterprise, and how are these hurdles being overcome?

A. There are a number of well-documented challenges facing the industry, with delays in acquiring parts and an ongoing talent and skills shortage. Vehicle supply has been another consideration, though that is now easing.

Our approach has been to lead from the front in facing and overcoming these hurdles. We’ve invested in helping repair partners find and train new technicians, as well as working closely with suppliers to reuse green parts from salvage vehicles.

Enterprise has continued to grow its UK and global fleet, even at times when there may be fewer new cars being released by manufacturers, and we’re really well positioned for the future. The business is in great shape to deliver on our customers’ needs.

Q. Which aspect of the Awards night are you most looking forward to?

A. For me, it’s all about the people. An Awards night is a chance for the entire insurance sector to come together to talk, catch up and discover what’s new. I’m really looking forward to seeing the people who I know will be there, and certainly hope to have a conversation or two with some new faces.

Q. If you could offer one piece of advice to the award winners, what would that be and why?

My advice would be to share your joy and success with your entire team. Only a few people put on the black tie or special outfit and attend an Awards night, but we know that award wins happen because huge numbers of people from across the business contribute to that success. Make sure everyone knows that it was their combined work that helped bring that trophy home.

On a related note, look after the trophy! No-one wants to be the winner who accidentally leaves their award in the bar. Thankfully, in this case, I don’t speak from experience.

To find out more about Enterprise Rent-A-Car, visit their website here.