Halifax-backed motor insurer Esure will launch its own 150-strong recommended repair network from December. The business, set up by Direct Line founder Peter Wood in 2000, originally put 100 per cent of its business through ABS but also entered into a similar agreement with Claims Plus.

Now Esure, which specialises in insuring safe drivers, will use its own network to process claims from its half-a-million customers. Gordon Hannah, head of claims, says that within two years, its customer base could top one million.

“It is this growth and development that has led us to create our own approved network,” he says. Up to 90 per cent of the work will go through the new network while excess volumes will be put through ABS and Claims Plus centres.

But ABS network director Alan Hodgkinson says his organisation is already replacing Esure work.

“The Esure account came at a good time for ABS and allowed us to invest in the infrastructure and systems that allowed both partners to grow,” he says. “Esure has been moving in this direction for a while so we have focused on taking new business and we are set to sign a major deal with a large insurer and a broker. This means we will have increased volumes for our network of repairers.”