Credit hire company vs accident management company
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This is a directory of credit hire and accident management firms. We are not an insurer, not your insurer, and not a credit hire company. One listed firm holds paid Featured Partner placement. How we earn: /about/
The difference is scope: a credit hire company supplies you a replacement vehicle on credit after a non-fault accident, while an accident management company runs the whole claim — vehicle, repair, and recovery of the costs from the at-fault insurer. In practice most UK firms do both under one label or the other, so the working question is not which term a firm uses but which services it actually provides.
Understand the service
One vehicle, two different scopes of service
Credit hire focuses on the temporary replacement and its agreement. Accident management can extend to recovery, repair coordination and cost recovery. Confirm which parts one firm is actually taking responsibility for.
Image context: manufacturer press photography illustrates vehicle types and decision points only. It does not show, rank or evidence the fleet or availability of any listed firm.
What is the difference between a credit hire company and an accident management company?
A credit hire company’s core product is the vehicle: it puts you in a like-for-like replacement and recovers the hire charges from the at-fault side. An accident management company wraps that vehicle in a full service — first notification, replacement vehicle, repair management, cost recovery — so the label describes breadth, not a different mechanism:
| Service | Credit hire company | Accident management company |
|---|---|---|
| Replacement vehicle on credit | Core service | Included |
| Repair arrangement and management | Sometimes | Typically included |
| Claim handling and cost recovery | For the hire charges | For the claim end to end |
| Injury element | No (referred out) | Sometimes referred to a legal professional |
| Who it suits | You want the vehicle; your insurer or broker handles the rest | You want one firm running everything |
Which do I need after a non-fault accident?
If you only need mobility while your car is repaired and someone else is managing the claim, a credit hire company covers it; if you want one firm to run the vehicle, the repair and the recovery together, you want the accident management service. Judge firms by their listed services rather than their label — the directory records what each firm actually provides, and the comparison tool puts those fields side by side.
Can one firm be both?
Yes, and most large UK operators are: firms such as Auxillis, AX and Kindertons describe end-to-end accident management with credit hire as the vehicle component. This directory therefore lists both kinds in one place and tags services per firm, rather than maintaining an artificial split — see the accident management view for the end-to-end framing.