Daily Motor News – Wednesday 21 January 2026 

“Few industries are evolving faster than vehicle repair. Electrification, the growth of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), and new vehicle manufacturers entering the market are transforming both the technical and operational demands placed on repair networks. Today, over half of the windscreens Autoglass replaces require re-calibration, reflecting the growing number of vehicles equipped with ADAS. That single trend has transformed how our business operates.” Simon Blake, Operations Director, Autoglass. Read more

Report Fraud launches 

The City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, today announces the full public launch of Report Fraud - a new national service designed to transform how victims and businesses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland report cyber crime and fraud, and how law enforcement and industry respond. Read more

The AI-native insurer: Five strategies to transform risk into resilience 

As an industry, insurance exists to mitigate risk. And the risks currently faced by insurers are unprecedented. From more frequent natural catastrophes to overlapping regulations and AI-enabled fraud, insurers are facing challenges that their models, business processes, and systems were never designed to address. Read more

Why Some of the Biggest PCW Performance Issues Never Show Up in Insurer Data 

Insurers spend a huge amount of time analysing pricing performance across price comparison websites. When results don’t line up, the instinct is usually to look at appetite, price position, or competitor behaviour. But in a growing number of cases, the issue sits somewhere far less visible. Read more

Motorbike theft: understanding the risk and reducing the opportunity 

Motorcycles play an important role in the UK’s transport system. They offer affordable mobility, help reduce congestion, and are relied upon by commuters, couriers, tradespeople and enthusiasts alike. However, despite advances in security and awareness, motorbike theft remains a persistent issue across the country. Read more

Delivering growth and good customer outcomes 

In 2026 general insurers in the UK and EU will have to engage with both government-driven growth agendas and more traditional regulatory agendas. The growth and regulatory simplification agenda presents commercial insurers with a range of opportunities. However, in some areas the costs of implementation may exceed the benefits, thereby limiting the rate of adoption. Read more

IMS powers ‘Drive Smart’ programme as telematics solution partner for Motability Operations in groundbreaking initiative 

IMS is delighted to announce its role as the telematics solution partner behind the Motability Scheme’s Drive Smart programme in the UK. Building on its award-winning smartphone telematics technologies – IMS One App and IMS Wedge – IMS will power the Drive Smart system, to promote and reward safer, mindful driving amongst scheme customers. Read more

Obvious problems with the fixed recoverable costs regime, lawyers say 

The extended fixed recoverable costs (FRC) system is mired in uncertainty for injured people and law firms, APIL has warned. “It’s still early days, but obvious problems are emerging from the 2023 extension to the FRCs regime,” said APIL executive committee member John McQuater. Read more

Robotaxi incidents put autonomous vehicle risk models under pressure 

For insurers watching autonomous vehicles move from trials towards paid services, recent robotaxi incidents are less about fault and more about evidence, and whether current safety data is robust enough to support early pricing, reserving and liability assumptions. Read more

Car-sharing firm Zipcar confirms end of UK operations, affecting 650,000 customers 

Car-sharing company Zipcar is to cease operations, hitting around 650,000 drivers across the UK. As reported by Car Dealer, on December 1, the US-based company told customers in the UK that it planned to suspend new bookings temporarily at the turn of the year. Read more

Peugeot E-208 crowned 2025’S hottest used car 

Data from Autotrader, the UK’s largest automotive platform has revealed that the Peugeot E-208 (up to 1 year, electric) was the UK’s hottest used car of 2025[1], taking a median of just 17 days to sell and almost two weeks faster than the average used car, at a 31 day average. Read more

Trump says tiny cars are amazing but will Americans actually buy them? 

America is known as the land of big cars and even bigger SUVs but Donald Trump has an idea that could change that. The president wants to bring to the US tiny vehicles, like those commonly seen on the streets of Japan, in the form of mini hatchbacks and vans half the size of a Ford F-150 pickup truck. Read more

Driving test cheating soars as candidates turn to Bluetooth headsets and impersonators 

Cheating cases during practical and theory driving tests rose by nearly 50 per cent last year in England, Scotland and Wales, new figures show. The cheating methods varied, according to freedom of information data from the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), with more than 1,100 cases involving the use of Bluetooth headsets. Read more

Carpenters: How insurance is building a culture where everyone can thrive 

What strikes me most about our sector is the genuine heart behind it. You can feel it in the way people talk about their workplaces; supportive, open, and built on shared values we shaped together. That sense of co creation gives people a voice. It says, ‘this is who we are, and we stand by it’. Read more

Luxury car chop shop busted after stolen Mercedes GPS tracker leads police to headquarters 

A ‘professional and sophisticated’ chop shop that was stealing and stripping down luxury cars fell apart after the tracker in a pinched Mercedes led police right to its headquarters. Read more

Kevin Howe has started a new role as Volkswagen Group Paint & Body Development Manager at Avant Consult Ltd.