In its first year, the Specialist Credit Hire Team has rapidly established itself as a high-performing and strategically important part of the Vehicle Hire & Damage (VHD) practice, delivering exceptional outcomes for insurers.
Building on over 15 years of VHD expertise, the team has evolved into a national specialism focused on complex and high-value claims. In FY26, it achieved strong results, including savings in excess of £20 million.
12 Months in Review
Having identified a growing need for specialist claims handling, litigation and advisory services in respect of complex VHD, the team has demonstrated deep technical capability across a wide range of challenging matters, including catastrophic losses, cross-border disputes, mechanical failure cases, forensic vehicle analysis and test litigation. This is complemented by close collaboration with complex Property and Injury Teams ensuring a fully integrated approach to specialist claims handling.
Thought leadership has been a key differentiator, with four reported cases: Rigley v Zurich Insurance Co (UK) Ltd, Velummylum v UK Insurance Ltd, Thandi v AA Underwriting Insurance Co Ltd, Holland v Zurich Insurance Co (UK) Ltd enhancing market visibility and supporting informed decision-making for insurer clients. This has been complemented by proactive and targeted insight-led engagement, strengthening relationships and reinforcing the team’s growing reputation and capabilities to ensure claims payments are fair and proportionate and mitigated where appropriate.
Led by Partner, Helen Mason, and ably supported by experienced VHD Associates, Dan Miller in England & Wales, and Kelly Sutherland in Scotland, the team delivers consistent, high-quality service across all jurisdictions.
Focus for the Year Ahead
In the coming year, the team will focus on:
- Driving further indemnity savings through early intervention, robust strategy, and increased use of data insights.
- Enhancing technical excellence in complex and catastrophic hire claims, including continued investment in forensic capability.
- Expanding thought leadership to help shape market practice and keep insurers ahead of emerging risks.
- Continuing to develop bespoke KYO strategies to assist insurers in reducing claims spend and tackling behaviour against more problematic CHO's.
- Strengthening collaboration across legal disciplines to deliver fully coordinated claims solutions.
- Investing in talent and succession to ensure long-term capability and consistency of service.
How We Support Our Clients
We work in partnership with our insurer clients to:
- Reduce claims spend through proactive and commercially focused hire and damage strategies.
- Mitigate risk in complex claims by providing specialist expertise and early case direction.
- Improve claims outcomes via defensible litigation strategies and test case development.
- Provide market insight to support reserving, strategy, and operational decision-making.
- Deliver consistency and control across jurisdictions, ensuring a seamless and reliable service.
With a clear strategy and strong first-year performance, the team is well positioned to build on its success and continue delivering measurable value. Its ambition remains clear: to be the leading specialist in hire and damage claims handling for insurers.
Want to know more?
If you would like to understand how our Specialist Credit Hire Team can support your claims strategy or deliver further savings, we would be delighted to speak with you.
Please click here to know more about Credit Hire and/or to get in touch to start the conversation.
