Akzo Nobel UK has reported “immediate and significant” improvements to accident rates and repair processes on its 700-vehicle mixed car and van fleet with the help of Arval.

Akzo Nobel UK went live with Arval Total Care earlier this year and says the benefits have been immediate and significant

The paints and performance coatings company signed up to the Arval Total Care product, which combines vehicle insurance and an accident management solution for businesses, with a simple pricing structure based on a charge per vehicle.

The business already took risk management very seriously but felt it wasn’t making much progress in terms of driving down the incident rate and vehicle repairs were proving slower and more difficult than expected.

In mid-2019, Akzo Nobel UK signed a five-year sole supply fleet deal with Arval and, soon afterwards, discussions began about the company’s fleet insurance and risk management needs.

It went live with Arval Total Care earlier this year and, according to UK fleet manager Karl Allward, the benefits have been immediate and significant.

“The biggest change is really the simplest, with the entire insurance and repair process sitting with one provider and one phone number. So if there is an incident, both we and our drivers know who to call, and the resulting process is slick and efficient.

“This has been a huge advantage from an administrative point of view. We used to spend a lot of time in the fleet department chasing repairs, checking progress and trying to find out who was responsible for different elements. That has now disappeared.”

He added: “The repair process is also faster and, as a result, we are saving money on daily rental and reducing other costs associated with vehicles being off the road. These soon used to mount up under the previous system, but we now feel as though everything is being much more closely and effectively managed.”

Building on this, Akzo Nobel UK will now examine the claims and risk management data provided by Arval to identify areas where it can make improvements in the incident rate – which wasn’t previously possible.

Allward continued: “The areas of frustration that we previously identified around our fleet insurance and accident management all feel as though they have been resolved.”