What Insurers Should Ask Before Approving a Credit Hire Claim

Most credit hire disputes don't start at assessment. They start in the first 24 hours, when nobody asked the right questions and the file went out with gaps. By the time it lands on a litigator's desk, the rate, the period, and the need-of-hire are all up for grabs — usually unnecessarily.

Here are the questions an insurer claims handler (or intervention team) should be asking on day one. They're the same questions a defensible CHO is asking itself.

1. Is liability genuinely clear?

Credit hire assumes the at-fault insurer pays. If liability is split, contested, or unclear, the hire is at risk from the start. Ask:

• Is there a police reference?
• Is there a third-party admission?
• Are there independent witnesses, dashcam, or CCTV?

A clean liability picture protects everyone. A muddy one needs to be flagged before the vehicle goes out, not after eight weeks of charges have accrued.

2. Does the claimant actually need a hire vehicle?

Need-of-hire is the single biggest battleground at assessment. The questions are simple and the answers should be on file:

• What does the claimant use the vehicle for?
• Is there another vehicle in the household?
• Could public transport reasonably cover the trips?
• For business use: what's the income or operational impact of being off the road?

If a credit hire organisation can't answer these for every file, that's your signal.

3. Is the vehicle genuinely like-for-like?

A Group F hire against a Group C own-vehicle is an immediate red flag. Ask:

• What did the claimant drive (make, model, age, fuel type)?
• What was supplied?
• If there's a step-up, why? (Stock availability is an acceptable reason if documented; "we had it spare" is not.)

For specialist vehicles — taxis, EVs, commercials, prestige — confirm the supplier holds genuine like-for-like stock rather than substituting down or up.

4. Is the rate inside the GTA, and on what basis?

For GTA-subscribing insurers, the rate should be at GTA daily rates for the matched group. For non-GTA hires, the supplier should be able to evidence the rate against basic hire rates (BHR) for the claimant's area.

Ask:

• Is this a GTA hire?
• If non-GTA, has BHR evidence been gathered at the start of hire (not retrofitted at assessment)?
• Is there an impecuniosity statement on file if the claimant cannot afford the BHR?

These three pieces of evidence, captured at day one, settle 90% of rate disputes before they start.

5. Is the period of hire being actively managed?

Open-ended hires kill recovery. The supplier should be:

• Tracking the repair from day one (booked-in date, parts ETA, completion target).
• Recovering the vehicle the moment need-of-hire ends.
• For total losses: ending hire on the date the insurer makes a reasonable settlement offer, plus a fair window (typically 7–14 days) to source a replacement.

If you can't see active period management on file, the duration will balloon and assessment will challenge it.

6. Who is the named handler?

A good credit hire file has one named handler from FNOL to settlement. That handler can answer any of the questions above by lunchtime. If the file is being passed between a queue, the answers will be in the system somewhere — but probably not when you need them.

The short version

If the answers to these six questions are on the file from day one, the claim defends itself at assessment. If they're not, you're going to be arguing about liability, need, rate, vehicle match, and period — usually all at once.

It's much cheaper to ask up front. That's true for the CHO, and it's true for the insurer.

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If you'd like to see how PurpleSquare structures a recoverable credit hire file — or to discuss direct hire arrangements on your panel — contact partners@psqhire.co.uk or call 01606 662300.