Motor repairs and claims have evolved beyond all recognition as more technology has entered the market. Predicting where the sector will go next is no easy task but that was the challenge of a panel debate held at the ARC360 Back to the Future conference and exhibition held at the British Motor Museum late in November.
Taking part in the debate were Claire Hart, National Sales Manager, Entegral; Dean Lander, Head of Repair Sector, Thatcham Research; and Neil Joslin, Chief Operating Officer, e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management.
FNOL
The most fundamental change, the panel agreed, would come in first notification of loss (FNOL), which is considered one of the most critical areas of the claim as it establishes the type of claims journey that will follow.
At the moment different stakeholders are vying to own this space, but Dean suggests the process will – and must – be taken out of all their hands to ensure the data is correct and trust in the journey is re-established.
He said, “We’ve got a problem with the accuracy of data gathered at the start of the claim and that has caused a lack of trust between repairers and insurers. Getting the right data is critical but we don’t put enough time into vehicle damage assessment. There is so much technology built into vehicles now and that has fundamentally changed the VDA process from what it was 10 years ago.
“In the short-term we need to give more support to people carrying out that function, but in the longer-term we need to use tech on cars to self-diagnose and automatically report the claim to bypass all the people trying to get in on FNOL.
“That will happen. In the future the car will be involved in an accident, it will diagnose the level of damage and communicate that to the right person, and then automatically enter the supply chain process. So the driver won’t have to make that phone call and the claims handler won’t have to enter that data.
“That will remove the friction that exists between repairers and insurer and allow each to focus on what they’re good at, which is repairing cars and insuring drivers.”
Innovation
He advocates the greater adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in this process, which will assist with correct triage and accelerate the wider repair process.
Claire agreed, describing a future with automated claims as ‘inevitable’. She said this would also increase transparency in the claim, with all relevant data collated on a single portal that bodyshops, customers and insurers can access and view at any time.
“The claims journey is a one-way street now,” she said. “All the information comes down the supply chain so we need to connect the whole industry so everyone can see what they need to and bodyshops don’t have to waste their time updating multiple portals.”
But while this is the end goal, it won’t happen overnight with the industry still in what Dean described as an ‘innovative cycle’. He said that there are still many tech developers operating in the AI arena and all are competing to become the dominant provider with access to data from multiple vehicle manufacturers.
“It’s the next step that everyone is trying to take,” he said, “but vehicle manufacturers are in competition with each other so they are reluctant to make their vehicle data freely available.”
Green parts
Another area ripe for reinvention is the use of green parts in repair. The UK trails many other markets in this, but it’s a problem that can be solved. One stumbling block is the speed of parts distribution, but it was argued that this is a catch 22 situation – suppliers aren’t stocking certain parts because there is a perception there is no demand, while demand is being held up by the perception that parts aren’t available.
Neil said, “We need to make it easy for repairers to see what green parts are available and be confident of their quality and that they will be delivered on time. Green parts are coming, it’s being driven into legislation and customers are ready for them. They are happy to buy second-hand cars so why wouldn’t they buy second-hand parts?
“We have a perception in our industry that customers are pushing against it, but I don’t think that perception is right and as an industry we need to be more open-minded.”
Putting the onus on manufacturers, he added, “A lot of progress has been made in protecting occupants. The next challenge will be in protecting the valuable parts within cars so they can re-enter the market.”
