How Visual Triage is Changing the Shape of Motor Insurance Claims
There are multiple pressure points across the motor claims journey, but none quite as resource-intensive or important for the customer experience as the moment between first notification and knowing what happens next.
UK claims specialist S&G Response has spent years working with partners across the insurance industry to provide quicker, more efficient, and more accurate claims management for insurers, MGAs, brokers and fleet operators. In recent years, the challenges faced by S&G’s customers have grown in volume and complexity, and many in the industry are turning to smart technology to help ease the load. For context, motor insurers paid a record £3.2bn to support customers during the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), and the average motor insurance claim increased by four per cent during the quarter to £4,900.
More than half (55%) of UK insurers are already integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into claims processing, with 98% either already using or planning to use generative AI to process unstructured data, placing the industry significantly ahead of the global average. Yet, for many, these tools have not always produced the seamless benefits they first promised, and only 7% of these insurers would consider themselves working at a scalable level of AI literacy. The reality is that
the way in which the technology is integrated into existing frameworks matters just as much as the technology itself.
The partnership between S&G, visual AI provider Bdeo, and UK claims platform Claim Technology, is an example of just how effective a careful implementation of the right tools in the right way can be. Working with Bdeo and Claim Technology, S&G has been able to harness cutting-edge industry technology for automated, near-instant damage assessment, and done so without sacrificing the importance of the human approach. S&G’s operational expertise, claims workflows, repair network, and customer service model determined how and where automation was deployed, ensuring that technology enhanced rather than disrupted the customer journey, and keeping the human touch alongside the technology enhancement.
In an industry that has spent years being told it must choose between speed, cost control, and service quality, S&G’s experience suggests that, when implemented well, automation doesn’t force that trade-off at all.
Choosing partners over building in-house
S&G Response has built its reputation as a specialist provider of motor claims, mobility, repair and recovery solutions for insurers, brokers, fleet operators and vehicle manufacturers. While technology increasingly underpins the claims experience, S&G’s core strength has always been operational expertise, customer service, and the ability to deliver consistently strong claims outcomes.
As claims volumes, customer expectations, and repair complexity have increased, S&G recognised the need to accelerate its digital capabilities. Rather than attempting to develop every component internally from day one, the business adopted a pragmatic approach, partnering with proven technology specialists to rapidly deploy market-leading solutions and deliver immediate value to clients and customers.
Claim Technology was already embedded in S&G’s operational model, providing the digital back-office infrastructure that connects insurers, repairers and customers throughout the claims journey as well as front-office customer self-serve technology. Through this relationship, S&G was able to integrate Bdeo’s visual intelligence technology, bringing AI-powered damage assessment into the claims process within a matter of months.
The partnership delivered immediate operational benefits, but it also delivered something beyond this, and of greater value: insight. By working closely with leading technology providers such as Bdeo, S&G has been able to identify where automation creates the greatest impact, understand the practical challenges of implementation, and gather the operational data required to inform future innovation.
Today, S&G views technology not simply as a support function,
but as a strategic enabler of competitive advantage. The Board’s long-term vision is to develop an increasingly proprietary technology ecosystem, combining internally developed intellectual property, workflow automation, data assets and AI-driven decision support capabilities that are uniquely aligned to S&G’s operating model and customer requirements.
“Strategic partnerships will remain a core element of S&G’s technology strategy,” explains Nik. “However, the business is increasingly investing in proprietary data, workflow automation, decision support tools and customer-facing digital capabilities that complement partner technologies and create unique value for clients. Our objective is not to replace proven specialist solutions, but to combine them with S&G-developed intellectual property to create a differentiated claims ecosystem that cannot easily be replicated.”
The collaboration between S&G, Claim Technology and Bdeo therefore represents more than a successful implementation project. It marks an important stage in S&G’s broader digital transformation journey, combining the strengths of specialist partners today while building the foundations for the next generation of S&G-led innovation tomorrow.
Technology advancement is an increasingly important differentiator across motor claims, and S&G is committed to continued partnerships with industry leaders that are combining workflow automation, data assets and AI-driven decision support capabilities that are uniquely aligned to S&G’s operating model and customer requirements.
“Strategic partnerships will remain a core element of S&G’s technology strategy.” explains Nik. “In the long term, we are looking to combine proven specialist solutions with S&G-developed intellectual property to create a differentiated claims ecosystem that cannot easily be replicated.”
The collaboration between S&G, Claim Technology and Bdeo therefore represents an important stage in S&G’s broader digital transformation journey, combining the strengths of specialist partners today while building the foundations for the company’s innovation tomorrow.
The existing partnership with Claim Technology facilitated a rapid rollout of Bdeo’s software to S&G’s customers in just three months. Further, each partner brought specialist expertise which, when fused, delivered an efficient and low-risk transition from concept to operational deployment and real-time results for customers.
Bridging the gap
S&G’s experience is reflective of a similar pattern many organisations are experiencing in the motor claims industry. Today, insurance companies and partners are seeing higher claims volumes and increasingly complex resolutions, driven by new vehicle technologies and climbing repair costs.
Vehicle repair costs were responsible for approximately 65% of the increase in overall motor claims costs between 2019 and 2023, according to the FCA’s Motor Insurance Claims Analysis. This reflects increasing vehicle complexity, ADAS calibration requirements, EV technology and shortages of skilled repair technicians.
The operating environment for motor insurers has become increasingly challenging and is placing growing strain on insurance providers. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), UK motor insurers paid a record £11.7 billion in claims during 2024, representing a 17% increase on the previous year. The average private motor claim reached £4,900, rising 13% year-on-year, while average claims exceeded £5,300 in Q4 2024, the highest level ever recorded. Across the motor claims industry, repair costs alone totaled £7.7 billion in 2024, an increase of £1.5 billion compared with 2023. The climbing costs are driving an even greater need for faster and more accurate claim assessment processes.
While claim frequency remains below pre-pandemic levels, increasing claim severity, repair complexity, and vehicle technology have significantly increased the workload associated with each individual claim. In 2024, insurers handled approximately 2.4 million motor claims, and at the same time, customers have come to expect instant, self-service digital experiences in every aspect of their lives, including insurance. Consequently, companies are facing growing pressures to implement new technologies that meet these expectations and
deliver excellence.
As S&G Response continued to work with customers, theynoticed that the same issue was creating a bottleneck in early claims processing. The default reaction across the industry when faced with a new problem is to look to a new tool to help solve it. However, without understanding where the friction is coming from, adding in additional technologies can create more friction and impede operations further. The most powerful AI tools that bring value to claims management are those that are connecting the dots, not just filling gaps.
Most claims operations, S&G included, already have some form of image-based assessment in place, but the ability to convert raw information into an operational decision quickly enough remains lacking. The delay that this gap causes, multiplied across thousands of claims, becomes the difference between a fast, transparent customer journey and a frustrating one.
Bdeo’s technology isn’t replacing human judgment so much as removing the delay between evidence arriving and a decision being made on it. Further, the deep integration between Bdeo and Claim Technology’s customer self-serve and claims automation platform means that Bdeo’s software solution is now embedded within the S&G Response operational flow, bridging the gap between the critical moments of incident, damage assessment and analysis, and claims resolution closer together.
S&G Response: Before and After
So often in the insurance industry it can feel that different aspects of the claims journey are competing with each other. The need to maintain operational efficiency while ensuring precision and accurate underwriting, alongside providing a good customer experience, leaves insurers pulled in all directions.
For S&G Response, the customer relationship is paramount, and the company has always operated with a “one claim, one handler” model. A single dedicated case owner manages each claim from start to finish, acting as the central, human contact point for ongoing customer communication and support.
It was crucial that S&G Response could uphold this promise to its customers while still integrating new technology that would enhance operational processes and support the case owner’s ability to nurture customer relationships, rather than removing the human touch. With Bdeo’s software via the Claim Technology platform, this is now possible.
Under the new model, a customer reporting a claim is guided through Bdeo’s platform to capture photos and video of the damage. The visual AI technology then analyses the images and returns an assessment within seconds. From there, the data is channeled directly into Claim Technology’s workflow engine, which applies S&G’s own business rules to route the claim to the appropriate channel, be that a smart repair, a network bodyshop, further engineering review, or an alternative pathway. Where previously submission and
analysis were slow and prone to human error, the process is now efficient, streamlined, and designed for easy use and transparency.
Bdeo’s software performs visual evidence assessment and analysis in seconds, providing customers with an outline of next steps almost immediately, rather than waiting days for an engineer visit or repair direction. For customers, the rapid processing time from evidence submission to proposed resolution provides clarity and reassurance in a time of heightened pressure following vehicle incidents.
The benefits extend beyond the customer experience with visible efficiency gains throughout the claims lifecycle.
The operational improvements delivered through the partnership are translating into real financial benefits for clients. By combining visual intelligence, automated workflow routing and earlier intervention, S&G has improved repair pathway accuracy and reduced reliance on manual assessment processes. The early indications suggest that increased smart repair adoption, reduced engineering referrals, and better-informed repair-versus-total-loss decisions can reduce the overall claims costs by £250–£375 per claim, while improving reserve accuracy and reducing claims leakage.
At scale, these efficiencies represent a meaningful opportunity for insurers seeking to control increasing claims inflation whilst maintaining high standards of customer service.
The bigger picture
For S&G, this partnership has shown that when the right experts come together, customer experience, operational efficiency and claims control don’t have to be traded off against each other
Each partner draws on its unique expertise, building a combined foundation for exceptional delivery across each of these three most important aspects of the claims process. It is an operation in harmony, with each improved aspect
feeding into the others: the ability to make better claims decisions earlier drives improved customer satisfaction, lower costs, more accurate reserving and greater operational efficiency.
Nick Stone, Operations Director at S&G Response, celebrated the strength of the partnership
Over the next 12 months, the three partners plan to extend automation further into estimation, total loss workflows and commercial vehicle claims. With a strong foundation in place and working alongside the human, rather than replacing them, the right technology is a powerful mechanism for improving every layer of claims operations.
