They’re still fighting, but the worst of NRMA Insurance’s dispute with smash repairers appears to be behind the motor insurer – at least according to parent company Insurance Australia Group (IAG).

CEO Michael Hawker says he is disappointed with the way the issue has escalated but remains confident it will be resolved in the near future.

Early last year NRMA Insurance introduced a new internet-based system for customers claiming on minor car damage. It includes an online bidding system where smash repairers compete with each other to offer the lowest quote.

The repairers were quick to label it unfair and potentially unsafe. Businesses were liable to cut corners in a bid to keep repair costs down, they said.

But Mr Hawker says the new system is driver-oriented. “The whole process of what we put in place was put in place for the benefit of our customers,” he said. “Over time our customer claims satisfaction has improved.”

There has been speculation that NRMA Insurance has lost significant market share during the protracted and high-profile dispute with the smash repairers, and Mr Hawker confirms that it inspired NRMA Insurance’s competitors to aggressively position themselves.

“There’s no doubt our competitors came at us,” he admitted. “We provided a focal point for some of our competitors to really attack us because of the public perception of being greedy.”

That aggression may have backfired, however.

“They spent a lot more money on advertising, they became far more aggressive on price but I think that’s past us now. I think they probably damaged some of their own margins. But that’s up to them.”