IAG joins international insurer push for repair-friendly vehicle design

IAG joins global repairability call

Insurance Australia Group has joined motor insurance research institutes from 15 countries in calling for vehicle manufacturers to design cars with repairability in mind, a push reported by Insurance Business as repair cost inflation continues to pressure motor claims across the Australian market. Representatives from 19 research institutes gathered in Mexico City for the annual conference of the Research Council for Automobile Repairs (RCAR), examining how vehicle design can better support repairability, reduce damage severity and lower costs for consumers. IAG is Australia's only member of the international body. ¹

insuranceNEWS.com.au reports that IAG says it is committed to working with the car industry, governments and other stakeholders to improve road safety, reduce repair costs and support more efficient vehicle repairs. IAG backs RCAR's call for the industry and vehicle manufacturers to step up cooperation on vehicle design, driver assistance systems and repair methods. ²

The conference focused on two practical priorities, according to Insurance Business: the potential for low-speed automatic emergency braking systems designed for parking and manoeuvring to reduce collision damage claims, and the case for manufacturers to factor repair outcomes into vehicle design from the outset. Members also called for wider adoption of repair practices that fix damaged components rather than replace them outright. According to RCAR, as reported by insuranceNEWS.com.au, modern vehicles have become significantly more complex through connectivity, driver assistance systems and new propulsion technologies, especially electric vehicles, and that complexity often leads to more extensive repairs and higher costs when damage occurs. ¹²

Shawn Ticehurst, head of the IAG Research Centre, said the challenge requires coordination across the industry. "Vehicle construction and technology is rapidly evolving, delivering significant improvements to the driving experience. However, those benefits need to be balanced with designing vehicles that can also be safely repaired," Ticehurst said, in comments published by Insurance Business and carried by insuranceNEWS.com.au. According to insuranceNEWS.com.au, IAG said its Research Centre undertakes detailed vehicle dismantling to improve repair time guidance, explore emerging repair techniques and assess how new technologies affect repairability, parts costs and safety outcomes. ¹²

The repair cost backdrop

The push lands against sustained repair cost pressure in Australia. Repair bills have climbed 26% since 2022 and now account for roughly 60% of total motor claim costs, according to the Insurance Council of Australia's Motor Insurance Policy Paper published in March 2025, as cited by Insurance Business. Comprehensive motor premiums averaged $1,052 a year in 2024, up 42% since 2019, with average claims costs rising by the same margin, while APRA data cited in the ICA paper shows insurers' motor costs as a proportion of premiums collected rising from 89% in June 2019 to 94% in June 2024. ¹

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's Report 838, released in August 2026, measured motor vehicle insurance premiums rising 8% in the 12 months to July 2025, outpacing inflation over the same period, Insurance Business reports. Separately, IAG's own exposure to claims severity is visible in its results: ad-hoc-news.de notes the group reported a 5.3% net margin for the past year, down from 7.8%, and describes the repairability initiative as an effort to contain rising repair bills and claims costs. Road crashes kill approximately 1.19 million people globally each year and cost the world economy an estimated 3% of GDP, figures Insurance Business attributes to the World Health Organization. ¹³

Parts access remains the sticking point

Beyond vehicle design, independent repairers face a more immediate obstacle: parts. Under the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme, which commenced in 2022, independent repairers can access manufacturer diagnostic and repair information, but that counts for little if a manufacturer declines to sell the relevant part. Insurance Business reports that the ICA made that argument directly to Treasury in a July 2026 submission, calling for the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to be amended to require manufacturers to sell genuine parts to independent repairers on fair and reasonable terms. ¹

"The MVIS has driven real competition in the repair sector but for one crucial flaw: car manufacturers can still withhold the sale of parts from independent repairers. When parts are locked away, repairs cost more, take longer, and good cars get written off for no good reason," ICA chief executive Andrew Hall said, as quoted by Insurance Business. The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association, which led the campaign that established the scheme, has called for it to go further on diagnostic tool access, with chief executive Stuart Charity quoted by the publication: "It's not enough to pass a law and hope for the best. Without an operational arm, nothing happens." ¹

ADAS: safety gains paired with repair cost

The vehicles now coming through the claims pool carry more technology than their predecessors, and that cuts both ways. Research by IAG and Queensland University of Technology found that consistent ADAS use across the full Australian fleet could potentially prevent around 7,850 serious road casualties annually, roughly 20% of Australia's approximately 40,000 annual total, Insurance Business reports. The underlying IAG Driving Safer Outcomes Report, produced with QUT and the iMOVE Co-operative Research Centre, drew on analysis of 100,000 vehicle collisions from Queensland and Victoria police-reported crash data over 11 years, an on-road study with 50 participants and a national survey of 2,024 drivers of ADAS-enabled vehicles. ¹⁴

Every ADAS system studied reduced the likelihood of the crash type it was designed to prevent, with the largest reductions including sideswipe collisions down by up to 40% through lane keeping assist and head-on crashes down by up to 21% through autonomous emergency braking, according to the study as reported by Insurance Business. But the same report found 60% of Australian drivers actively turn the systems off, meaning the safety dividend is captured only by the roughly 57% of drivers who use ADAS consistently. "In a modernising vehicle fleet with driver-assist safety features as standard, we would expect to see a positive correlation in reduced accident and casualty rates," Ticehurst said. "But that's not happening and it needs to change if we want to see fewer accidents." ⁴

In response to the findings, Insurance Business reports that IAG is calling for coordinated action across vehicle manufacturers, governments, driver educators and the insurance sector, with recommendations including ADAS training at the point of sale, integration of the systems into licensing curricula, and design changes to reduce the intrusive alerts that prompt drivers to disable the technology. Professor Sebastien Glaser of QUT said hands-on exposure is the lever that shifts behaviour, noting in the publication that the effectiveness of ADAS in delivering real-world safety benefits depends on strong driver engagement. ⁴

The repair side is already reshaping motor economics regardless of whether drivers use the technology. ADAS-equipped vehicles require specialist calibration after each collision repair, adding time and cost to every claim, and QUT estimates around 40% of vehicles on Australian roads will be ADAS-enabled by 2031, according to Insurance Business. In the United States, ADAS calibrations appeared on 34.7% of repair estimates in 2025, up from 12.1% in 2022, according to Enlyte's collision claims database as cited by Insurance Business, which frames the US figure as directional context for the same Australian cost trend confirmed by the ICA. Australian mandates are also progressing: car-to-car AEB was mandated on new passenger vehicles from March 2025, car-to-pedestrian AEB from August 2026, and lane keeping assist mandates come into full effect from March 2029, the publication reports. ¹⁴

Repair versus replace in the workshop

The RCAR members' preference for repairing rather than replacing damaged components sits alongside the practical judgement repairers must make on every job. US workshop guidance published by Scotty's Automotive Services in February 2026 outlines the trade-off: repairs are often cheaper upfront, but replacement can be the better call for structural or safety-critical parts and for vehicles fitted with ADAS, where even a small change in sensor alignment or mounting stability can cause problems and new components restore original geometry. The same guidance stresses that professional disassembly and inspection matter because hidden damage behind visible dents can change the repair plan entirely. ⁶

Corporate context for IAG

The repairability initiative sits alongside a contested acquisition. ad-hoc-news.de reports that in a September 23, 2026 release the ACCC said IAG's proposed acquisition of RAC Insurance could leave the group with 55 to 65% of Western Australia's motor insurance market and 50 to 60% of its home and contents market, and that the regulator opposed the transaction after a Phase 2 review, with IAG able to submit a public benefit application. Separately, Australasian Paint & Panel reports the MTAA has urged the ACCC to reject IAG's proposed five-year court-enforceable undertaking covering product benchmarking, smash repair exclusivity and a prohibition on owning repair facilities in WA, with MTAA executive director Bruce Billson calling it "window-dressing" against the 20-year exclusive distribution agreement and renewing calls for a mandatory national Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct. ³⁵