When commercial motor premiums are broadly comparable, claims handling is increasingly what decides where fleet business gets placed. New research commissioned by Direct Commercial Limited (DCL) found that 94% of UK commercial motor brokers prefer in-house claims teams over third-party administrator-led arrangements. That figure stood at 82% in late 2024.
The research was commissioned by DCL, a commercial motor MGA, and does not detail the methodology or sample size. The findings are consistent with broader broker sentiment data across the commercial motor market.
That cost pressure gives the broker’s role in managing claims a commercial dimension it did not have when settlements were cheaper. When a fleet vehicle is off road for longer, a client’s operations are disrupted. The broker’s ability to get timely updates then becomes a service issue, not just an administrative one.
What brokers say they need
More than half of respondents (51%) said they often or very often struggle to get detailed updates when claims go through third-party providers. Nearly half (47%) said broker portals with near-live claim status updates would be the most valuable 2026 improvement. Commercial motor claims handling has moved up broker selection criteria, particularly where premiums are broadly comparable.
The frustration with outsourced models runs deeper than slow updates. Brokers want structural involvement in the claims process rather than being routed through a provider they have no direct relationship with. That preference runs through the entire research. Ninety-three percent said three-way communication between insurer, broker, and policyholder is essential to controlling claims costs.
Findings reflect a broader market shift
The DCL results arrive as the wider commercial motor market grapples with the same pressures. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) reported that UK motor insurers paid out £1.9 billion on vehicle repairs in the first quarter of 2026 alone. The average accidental damage claim rose 8% to £3,699.
In Aviva‘s own broker research from early 2026, faster claims settlement was the single most cited priority for insurer improvement, named by 46% of respondents. The consistency across surveys from different parts of the market points to a structural shift in what brokers need from claims operations.
The 12-percentage-point rise in preference for in-house teams occurred over a period short enough that underlying market conditions have not changed dramatically. It suggests that broker experience of third-party administrator models under claims cost pressure has reinforced existing preferences. The gap is now wide enough to register as a placement factor rather than simply an operational one.
