A new version of the insurance industry’s Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motor Vehicle Salvage went live on 1st October.

Central to the updated version is the reclassification of repairable salvaged vehicles, shifting focus from commercial considerations such as repair costs and Pre-Accident Value (PAV), to an assessment of the ‘Structural’ and ‘Non-Structural’ damage to the vehicle.

The new categories to the simplified Salvage Code are: A (Scrap), B (Break), S (Repairable Structural) and N (Repairable Non-Structural). The review of the Code of Practice has involved multiple stakeholders including insurers, vehicle manufacturers, affected government departments and agencies, the Police, the vehicle leasing industry and the salvage industry.

In addition, for the first time, vehicles which have sustained structural damage will now gain an ‘S’ identifier on the V5C Vehicle Registration certificate, giving consumers visibility of whether a vehicle has been salvaged.

The full text on the document, added from 1st October will read: This vehicle has been salvaged due to structural damage but following a technical evaluation declared suitable for repair.

Ben Howarth, Senior Policy Adviser for Motor and Liability at the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which co-ordinates the code said: “The updated Salvage Code of Practice is focused on making the UK’s roads safer, and ensuring that consumers have transparency about the history of vehicles.

The new categorisation will help people ask the right questions and have confidence in the cars they’re buying. These changes ensure salvage practices keep pace with the more complex nature of modern vehicles, for the benefit of everyone involved in the process.”