Richard Done challenges at CILA 2022 on Sustainability ... Restoration v Replacement

When you get the opportunity to speak at a blue-ribbon annual event, you always think ‘Wow, Yes, Yes, Yes’, then you have that moment of, do I really want to do this? Stand-up in front of people, many that I’ve known for years, had run-ins with and had drinks with, do I want to put myself through this? Well, that’s how my brain sees it anyway. I don’t think I could have passed up this opportunity to speak at the 2022 CILA Annual Conference, particularly on a subject that is growing within the insurance sector and will leave a major legacy along with it.

Sustainability is a subject that is talked about at every board meeting across the insurance sector, what actions to take, how to implement the strategies devised, how to measure it and ultimately prove that the actions have reduced carbon emissions.

I hope that what I said, showed that the Damage Restoration industry is a sector based on reducing emissions, simply by doing what it does, restoration over replacement.

Polygon has worked on reducing emissions for many years, on a global level carrying out studies and sponsoring research into emission levels created by handling water damage losses using different methods. At a local UK level, introducing real-time driver assistance feedback systems to every company vehicle, cars, and vans, encouraging drivers to act in a way that reduces CO2 output.

I challenged some of the myths around restoration over replacement, timescales, costs, policyholder acceptance, and challenge the insurance industry over the issues around warranties following restoration of damaged household contents, and how acting in a responsible way can reduce both landfill and emissions.  

There is no easy fix for achieving the Net-Zero targets set out in the 2021 ABI Roadmap on this subject, we must work together to get anywhere near the required levels to mitigate the effects of global warming. Going off and doing our own thing will of course make a difference, but if we want to have a legacy that our children and grandchildren can be proud of, we must remove the competitive advantage we think we can gain, and devise plans that make real-world impacts to climate change.

I hope after the presentation the attendees had the confidence to go back to their organisations and challenge what it is their leaders are doing to help them as insurance experts to reduce the environmental impact, they have by the decisions they make at every point in their jobs.

If you would like to know more about how Polygon UK is tackling this issue and supporting our customers, email uk_sales@polygongroup.com