Macif represents 300,000 of the 2.5 million annual interventions for glass breakage in France. ERIC PIERMONT / AFP
The insurer has announced the acquisition of Mondial Pare-Brise, the French number three in windshield repair.
How, for an insurer, to lower the price of car repairs, which weighs on insurance rates? By acquiring a repair specialist. This is what Macif, the leading car insurer in France, has just done. The Niortaise mutual has paid 103 million euros to get its hands on Mondial Pare-Brise, the number three in windshield repair in France. “This is the first time that an insurer has acquired a repairer of this magnitude”assures the general manager of Macif, Jean-Philippe Dogneton.
The stakes of such an operation are high. Macif represents 300,000 of the 2.5 million annual interventions for glass breakage in France. The charge is estimated at 200 million euros per year by the insurer of the Aéma group. An amount that continues to grow due to the high inflation in the cost of windshield repairs, estimated at 6% per year since 2015.
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This is reflected in car insurance rates, which will rise by 3% to 5% on average in 2023. “Inflation in the repair of glass breakage is due to the economic context, technological developments and certain commercial practices”, specifies the Macif. The French windscreen repair and replacement market is dominated by Carglass. “The brand’s services are of good quality, but their prices are higher than in the rest of the marketemphasizes Cyrille Chartier-Kastler, founder of Facts & Figures. The challenge for Macif is to direct repairs to Mondial Pare-Brise, whose prices are lower. » With the key, for the insured, a lower increase in auto insurance rates.
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