THE Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association has asked for a joint meeting with insurance industry representatives. The request follows the collapse of small insurance company Paramount Insurance and is the latest move in the long-running battle between body repairers and insurers.

The VBRA wants to meet representatives of the Association of British Insurers and the Policyholders Protection Board with a view to producing a mutually agreed financial protection plan for body repairers. VBRA managing director Ron Nicholson said: 'Now is the time to build bridges, not blow them up. It is important to work constructively with the ABI and the PPB to see that the problems created for repairers by the liquidation of Paramount Insurance are not repeated in the future.'

The VBRA believes it is in the insurance industry's own interests to offer repairers additional financial security. The alternative is for every repairer to ask each policyholder to sign a form before any work is carried out, agreeing to meet the cost of repair if the insurer goes bust.