Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has joined motor insurance research institutes from 15 countries in calling for vehicle manufacturers to design cars with repairability in mind, a push that comes as repair cost inflation continues to pressure motor claims across the Australian market.
Representatives from 19 research institutes gathered in Mexico City last week for the annual conference of the Research Council for Automobile Repairs (RCAR), where participants examined 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.
The conference focused on two practical priorities: the potential for low-speed automatic emergency braking systems, those 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.
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.
Road crashes kill approximately 1.19 million people globally each year and cost the world economy an estimated 3% of GDP, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), figures that give the repairability debate its international dimension.
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The RCAR conference lands against a backdrop of 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 (ICA) Motor Insurance Policy Paper: A Roadmap for Reducing Rising Premiums, published in March 2025.
Comprehensive motor premiums averaged $1,052 per year in 2024, up 42% since 2019, with average claims costs rising by the same margin over the same period, the ICA found. Despite that, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data cited in the paper shows underwriting profitability declining, with insurers’ motor costs as a proportion of premiums collected rising from 89% in June 2019 to 94% in June 2024.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) 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.
Suncorp’s FY25 results showed it cut the average duration of a motor claim by 13 days over the year, a reduction it attributed to improved customer experience in claims handling.
Beyond vehicle design, independent repairers face a more immediate obstacle: parts.
Under the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme (MVIS), which commenced in 2022, independent repairers can access manufacturer diagnostic and repair information. But having that information counts for little if a manufacturer declines to sell the relevant part.
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.
“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 CEO Andrew Hall said.
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA), which led the campaign that established the MVIS and represents independent workshops nationally, has called for the scheme to go further on diagnostic tool access. CEO Stuart Charity said making the legislation work in practice is as important as the legislation itself. “It’s not enough to pass a law and hope for the best. Without an operational arm, nothing happens,” Charity said.
When repair costs push a vehicle into total loss territory, insurers pay market value under standard comprehensive policies or agreed value where that benefit applies. Either way, that exposure has grown alongside the 39% rise in new car prices and 32% rise in used car values since 2019, both figures from the ICA’s 2025 paper.
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The vehicles now coming through the claims pool carry more technology than their predecessors. Research by IAG and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) 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.
But ADAS-equipped vehicles require specialist calibration after each collision repair, adding time and cost to every claim. QUT estimates around 40% of vehicles on Australian roads will be ADAS-enabled by 2031, widening both the safety opportunity and the repair cost exposure at the same time.
For brokers, the combined effect of rising repair complexity, constrained parts access, and sustained premium pressure means motor insurance products and pricing are likely to remain under review. Understanding what is driving current premium levels puts brokers in a stronger position to explain movements to clients and assess whether existing coverage reflects the true cost of repairing a modern vehicle.
