Blog: Don’t fear the reaper

It isn’t because he’s a terrible driver, or because he’s poor company – quite the opposite, he’s a sparky Welsh petrolhead and proud!

No, the reason drivers won’t want to encounter Matthew is because his role at Gumball is to support participants in the event that something goes wrong, from breakdowns to road accidents or any type of vehicular damage.

And of course, no one wants their Gumball experience ruined by a problem with their pride and joy.

This is why ERS has taken the step of sending Matthew on the event to provide motor claims support in-situ, on behalf of ERS and its broker partners for the rally, PK Partnership. 

As Matthew explains: “The challenge with Gumball is that everyone is constantly on the move, so it’s very tricky to take a time out to visit a local garage and undertake any repair work if something goes wrong with a car.”

Bespoke
What’s more, these are no ordinary vehicles – they could be worth anything up to a million pounds and are highly bespoke. Within every Gumball rally there will be a vehicle that is genuinely one of a kind.

“It’s not as though you can go into a local garage on the outskirts of Budapest and ask for a replacement part for a customised Porsche,” continues Matthew.

“An issue that would be comparatively minor – such as a damaged headlamp – becomes a big deal with these supercars because the replacement parts are far harder to source. And of course, this type of incident can instantly render the vehicle unroadworthy.”

This is why, within the walls of ERS, Matthew is jokingly referred to as the Grim Reaper of Gumball.

See him, and it may well be race over.

No Gumballer wants to entertain the possibility of dropping out, and indeed, Matthew’s hope is that he can complete the rally uninterrupted.

“I love anything with an engine,” he reveals.

“I grew up reading Max Power magazine, obsessing over high powered cars. By the age of 17 I was modifying my own Ford Fiesta!”

Privilege
Matthew continues: “When you’re growing up and going through that, your car is everything – any money I had went into my car.

“It was my absolute world. Getting to experience Gumball on the ground is an incredible privilege and I can’t wait to be surrounded by all of these amazing vehicles. The last thing I want is for any of these cars to sustain any damage.”

We all hope that Matthew isn’t called upon during Gumball, but in the unfortunate event that he’s needed, his role is to ensure a swift and speedy resolution to put the unlucky participant at ease.

“My job is to gather the facts, assess the liability and make on-the-spot decisions for ERS and on behalf of our broker partners, so that the participants we’re insuring have clarity on how we can get their vehicles fixed and back on the road as soon as possible,” Matthew explains.

“It’s always better to be on site if something happens. You can take pictures, speak to the drivers, get a much better understanding of what has occurred in order to quickly establish the full story.

“I might not be able to keep the Gumball dream alive for these drivers, but I can help them to secure a speedier resolution, so that their vehicle isn’t out of action for any longer than it needs to be.”

Unique
ERS specialises in creating bespoke insurance policies for unique prestige vehicles that other insurers often disregard or shy away from.

Gumball represents one of the most complex undertakings in motor insurance, but thanks to experts like Matthew, its business is ideally-placed to serve the needs of each and every Gumballer for the entire week of the event.

That said, like Matthew, the business still hopes that no one has to speak to him at any stage of the rally!

For daily updates from Team ERS at Gumball, visit gumball.ers.com/

Catch up on the rest of the series

• Join ERS on the Gumball rally
• Gumball – A Grid’s Eye View
• The world’s scariest motor insurance risk?

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