Field Motor Engineer / Vehicle Damage Assessor North West London

Building on our success as one of the leading firms of independent assessors in the UK, AIA are looking to recruit an industry professional to join our team as a Field Motor Engineer Assessor in the North and West London area. Ideally you will already be working as an Engineer Assessor and qualified to ATA VDA or IAEA level, or working towards and also be AQP qualified for salvage categorisation.

You must be able to demonstrate a methodical approach to your work with a good eye for detail and accuracy. You will need to be familiar with modern repair techniques for all types of motor vehicles and be self-motivated in your work with experience of modern estimating systems.

The role involves carrying out inspections and assessments on damaged vehicles at repairer’s premises and private addresses for insurance claims. You will need to accurately assess the damage and negotiate repair costs on each vehicle you inspect, completing vehicle valuations, dealing with salvage categorisation and providing accurate reports with your findings. You will need to be able to work to our high service levels without compromising on your quality of work at all times.

You will need to have excellent communication, customer service and negotiation skills, a good level of IT literacy, and an awareness of the motor insurance claims process. The successful applicant will receive secure employment, competitive salary, company vehicle and ongoing training.

What's on offer?

• A competitive salary reflecting experience, qualifications and performance;
• A company car and fuel card will be provided to the successful candidate;
• A standard holiday entitlement of 20 working days is offered, plus all bank holidays;
• All the necessary equipment will be provided to complete the role;
• The Company also contributes towards the costs of providing broadband Internet for our staff engineers at their homes.

What will you be doing?

Carrying out inspections of all types of motor vehicles at repairer's premises, home addresses and owner's work addresses. Inspections are arranged in advance by our head office and sent to our staff engineers the evening before they are booked to allow them to plan their routes for the following day. You would be expected to complete an average of 8 inspections each day in the areas you cover; by the nature of the job, some days may be busier and some quieter.

You may be asked to complete image/desktop inspections as required to support our imaging engineers on quieter days in your area; You would be expected to accurately assess damage and record vehicle details at each inspection, agree reasonable repair costs when an estimate is provided, or calculate your own repair costs with correct and appropriate repair methods (using Glass’s Repair Estimate and eScribe) where no estimate is available or analysing repairer's estimates on Audatex when they are available.

You would need to consider the accident circumstances as advised and offer comments if any damage noted at time of inspection is not consistent with the circumstances; Each vehicle needs to be valued using Glass's MVA and on total loss cases supported by locating comparable vehicles currently offered for sale in the open market (i.e. examples from Autotrader).

You would need to work consistently within the SLA's we have with our work providers which means completing a report on the same day as inspection or providing an update to our head office advising the reason why a report cannot yet be completed. Similarly you would need to deal with any supplementary estimates or report queries received following your initial report within 1 working day from receipt. You will need to provide outstanding customer service to all parties you come into contact with throughout the inspection and reporting process.

What will you need?

• To be self-motivated with the ability to work well with minimum supervision.
• To always work with a high level of professionalism and ethical behaviour.
• Have good organisational and time management skills.
• A good working knowledge of motor vehicle construction and modern repair techniques.
• To be able to consistently work with a high degree of accuracy.
• Good working knowledge of computerised damage estimating systems, including Audatex & Glass’s RE.
• Good knowledge and understanding of ABI salvage categorisation.
• To have a proven track record of good negotiation skills.
• To have good written and verbal communication skills with the ability to provide concise and accurate information in reports and other communications.
• To be computer literate.
• To have a proven track record in vehicle damage and repair assessment.
• Have a good understanding of basic insurance principles and the motor claims process.
• A recognised motor vehicle repair apprenticeship and/or relevant motor vehicle related training/qualifications.
• Have current ATA Vehicle Damage Assessor accreditation.
• Have current qualification as an AQP for salvage categorisation (or willing to achieve this qualification).
• Have qualified for IAEA membership or be working towards it (or willing to work towards it).