Under the £2m, five-year deal with Australian insurer Suncorp Group, Thatcham will provide access to its escribe vehicle repair data product, which will provide subscribers with comprehensive estimation information, model-specific repair methods and critical safety data across a range of platforms including PCs, smart phones and tablets.

The partnership will see Suncorp fund the development of local vehicle content in escribe, with Thatcham researching and adding seven new Australian cars in the first year and a further five in each subsequent year up to a total of 27.

The tie-up will be especially wide-ranging as Suncorp will be making escribe available to all repairers, assessors and training organisations across Australia and New Zealand, not just to those who are aligned with the group.

‘With increasing vehicle complexity, it’s imperative that technicians are able to access fully researched methods and times to perform repairs at the highest levels of quality and efficiency,’ said Suncorp National Industry Relations Manager, Rob Bartlett. ‘Thatcham has delivered high quality and relevant repair information to the industry for more than 40 years and Suncorp is proud to be able to bring the escribe product to our market.’