Here’s some analysis of the day rate cap on credit hire;
A new set of maximum daily rates for credit hire mobility has come into operation today (1 July 2025), after insurers and credit hire companies (CHCs) made good on their agreement last November to an annual independent vehicle hire rate review driven by market data
The rates review is a major new part of the revised GTA (a voluntary protocol that reduces frictional costs in credit hire claims), and has come about following what the GTA independent chair Stewart McCulloch described as “unprecedented collaboration between insurers, credit hire companies and expert data suppliers.”
He said: “The 2025 rates will operate from July to July each year, and will be amended each year using state of the art tech supplied by Bridgetech’s rates assessment tool, Arbitrate, and APU.”
“For this set of rates, they analysed over 15.7 million price quotations. The average rate changes were weighted to reflect the incidence of claims, and Verisk provided critical data about claims frequency in GTA groups. The data and analysis rolled up to provide a completely independent proposal for all GTA vehicle groups commencing 1 July 2025.”
McCulloch added: “For the first time, the GTA has a completely objective and independent method of assessing daily hire rates. The whole process puts the result of the review beyond criticism and the outcomes are made more credible by the fact that rates for some groups have gone up and some have gone down.”
Anthony Hughes, CHO chair said: “Historians of credit hire will know that basic hire rates have long been a source of conflict between insurers and CHCs, with disputed claims often ending up in the courts.”
“This achievement sets an important precedent for progress in other areas (such as dispute resolution), and underlines the value of collaboration, rather than regulation, to ensure the best outcome for customers needing our help following an accident.”
Key players in the review programme hailed the new system as it launched:
Technical experts
Bridgetech CEO Matthew Porter welcomed the success of the project and praised the collaborative effort behind it. “Turning a bright idea into operational reality is no small feat,” he said, adding: “This project marks a defining moment for the GTA. We’re proud to have supported this initiative and hope to continue doing so in the years ahead – this is clearly a watershed moment that is in line with the ambitions of the ongoing process of GTA reforms, and it’s a standout example of the results we can deliver when we work together.”
UK MD at Verisk, Chris Sawford agrees: “We were pleased to provide clear and reliable data insights to help bring objectivity and consistency to the rate-setting process. This project is a great example of what can be achieved collaboratively when we come together with a clear purpose. Verisk will continue to support the GTA as it evolves and look forward to continuing our involvement including the upcoming ADR pilot starting in September.”
A spokesperson for APU said: “We were delighted to contribute to this process by providing data from our extensive database to assist the GTA in this exercise and would be pleased to support the GTA in the future.”
Insurers
James Driscoll of Aviva and Chair for the insurers on the Technical Committee added: “Throughout the process, insurers were actively engaged and felt reassured that this data-led, independent approach would deliver a fair and accurate assessment of the daily hire rate. The consultation period concluded last week, receiving support from the insurers with no objections to the proposed changes.”
Pete Highfield of NFUM and insurer lead on the Strategy Board believes that an important precedent has been set and said ‘we are no longer required at what has at times been a challenging negotiation table to sort this out each year. The hard work of collection and analysis can be handed over to our Chair and the assessor. They are both fully independent – and have delivered an objective data driven pricing outcome.”
Stewart McCulloch said work is continuing on other aspects of the revised GTA, including a pilot plan for dispute resolution (ADR): “The plan is to implement compulsory dispute resolution where cases are not agreed and settled within a set number of days following submission of a clean payment pack.”
He said the timing for this initiative fits with recent news from HMCTS of proposed changes to the civil procedure rules on sub £10K RTA claims falling into mandatory mediation before litigation.
Anthony Hughes also noted: “With the civil courts in such disarray and claimants having to wait over a year for their case to come before a judge, the industry needs to put our collective shoulder to the wheel and make the post-accident journey as good as we can, including keeping policyholders out of the courts.”
About the GTA
The General Terms of Agreement for the credit hire industry (GTA) is a voluntary agreement which was launched following a consultation between a small group of insurers and credit hire companies (CHCs). This group recognised that the introduction of agreed service standards and charges could deliver a better customer experience at a lower overall cost, while reducing friction between all parties.
Devised as a scheme which would establish rates reflecting the amounts which an innocent driver would reasonably be entitled to recover in court, the GTA was launched in September of 1999. Since then, it has reduced both administrative and overall costs for both insurers and CHCs, while helping CHCs to avoid litigation and settle claims more quickly.
The GTA has been the subject of Competition Market Authority reviews, which have confirmed and ensured market compliance. Over time, more and more insurers and CHCs have become full members of the GTA, or have adopted the agreement’s terms and charges as the basis for bilateral agreements.
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