Date for SAMBRA Awards confirmed

On 18 April 2024, SAMBRA and Lightstone will jointly host the 2023 Annual SAMBRA Awards ceremony at the Bryanston Country Club honouring top vehicle insurers and OEMs, as well as automotive Refinishing brands, for excellence in service provision to SAMBRA members.

Just over 100 insurers, OEMs and automotive refinishing suppliers are expected to attend the event.

This will be the second year that SAMBRA will be following a new methodology on which the awards are structured. The criteria and questions encourage a much broader response from the motor body repair sector. It also really homes in on the top five suppliers that do the most business with SAMBRA. “We believe this is a truer reflection of what is happening on the ground, and we’re excited to see the results last year and again this year,” says Marcia Modiba, SAMBRA Acting National Director.

SAMBRA focuses on creating and maintaining industry sustainability and development, and the annual awards are one of its flagship projects.

The survey is independently collated and audited by Lightstone, the headline sponsor of the awards. The survey targets the eligible 662 SAMBRA members nationwide to rate insurers, OEMs and Refinishing Partners on the following factors: fair business practices, prompt payment, green practices, relationship satisfaction, quality of vehicle damage assessment and repairers’ interaction with claims staff, payment speed, customer service, training programmes and product support.“The results have become an important gauge against which all partners evaluate themselves and their level of service to motor body repair businesses – and ultimately, the consumer. Its value is demonstrated by the unusually high response rate from SAMBRA members nationwide,” says Bernard De Vantier-Strydom, Head of Projects and Research at Lightstone.

Modiba emphasises that the Association’s focus has been, and remains, on fostering greater levels of cooperation and coordination between all players in the motor body repair industry, whether small and medium enterprises (SMEs) or large groups, insurance or other supply brands to increase collaboration between stakeholders, prepare the industry for new technologies and ensure the industry provides a fertile ‘hunting ground’ for new entrants. “We are excited to pay tribute to this year’s winners at our function in April,” she concludes.