Fixter: the AXA-backed startup making life easier for motorists

Making car maintenance simple 

Fixter provides competitively-priced car maintenance, powered by technology. Their end-to-end service includes picking up a customer’s vehicle within a 30-minute time slot, managing any required work on their behalf, and then returning the vehicle to the customer’s requested location – usually their home or workplace. They use a network of trusted local garages and guarantee all work for 12 months. Their mission? To give customers exceptional value, convenience and peace of mind.

In February 2017, Fixter started operating in the Manchester area as part of a soft launch. This gave the company an opportunity to iterate and improve its service before launching more widely. Now, Fixter is embarking on its national ambitions, operating in certain areas of London, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham.

 The company began as a startup and was developed through Kamet. Funded by AXA, Kamet supports disruptive companies in the insurance, protection and assistance industries. Through their three offices in Paris, London and Tel Aviv, they help companies like Fixter fund, develop and scale their business ideas.  

Changes in the UK market

The UK motor insurance market is worth £12 billion. Out of 27.2 million UK households, 20.2 million have car insurance. What’s more, established price comparison websites like Compare the Market and Confused.com account for nearly 70% of all new car insurance policies sold. In this fiercely competitive market, insurers must come up with new ways to stand out.

This has led to disruption in the industry, with new businesses and services challenging the traditional insurance market. Insurance startups now drive innovation across key segments such as pay-as-you-go insurance, peer-to-peer cover, the gig economy and more. These companies are raising the bar for customer expectations across the board, but particularly for quality digital services. 

The future

To continue our success, it’s critical AXA looks outside the traditional insurance market and thinks about how we can grow across other sectors. Historically, insurance has been considered a simple, transactional relationship. Now, we need to explore ways of building long-term relationships with our customers in a fast-changing, competitive market.

Working with Fixter through Kamet shows what we can achieve as a Group, demonstrating our skills, assets and shared sense of purpose. Our customers are busy people who need to keep their cars on the road. Thinking of innovative new ways to deliver meaningful value to our customers will set us apart from our peers.