Category: Insurance

Claims and motor repairs are evolving rapidly as new technologies and new ways of working disrupt the landscape. These changes are putting pressure on bodyshops and insurers and to move with the times to ensure they continue to offer a safe and streamlined service to drivers. 

Here, Solera Audatex considers the implications of the fast-changing landscape. 

Claims costs have been rising and are likely to keep rising, even when cost-of-living pressures abate, thanks to a shifting road transport landscape and skills shortages. 

The road transport landscape is undergoing the most rapid and remarkable evolution since the invention of the motor car. Welcome and essential as many of those changes will be, there is also considerable uncertainty, additional cost and an undeniable impact on claims costs.  

As the twin pressures of poor air quality and relentless climate change require new drivelines and infrastructure, vehicle bodyshops are having to invest in new diagnostic equipment for electric vehicles. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said in April 2023: “One in every 32 cars now comes with a plug with 1.1 million electric cars now in use.”  

A further 24,513 EVs were registered during May, up 58.7% on May last year to secure a 16.9% market share. 

Bodyshops and repairers therefore need the skills to manage petrol, legacy diesel and battery electric vehicles. Although electric vehicles may ultimately be cheaper to maintain because they have far fewer moving parts, currently this represents a major investment in battery diagnostics. 

However, the outlook is complicated by the lack of vehicle technicians. The UK suffered a significant exodus of EU vehicle technicians following Brexit and of domestic technicians during Covid. Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show 30,000 fewer vehicle mechanics (a 12% drop) between 2019 and 2022. (ONS Business Register and Employment Survey). 

Technician shortages are now affecting every part of the automotive repair and maintenance business, including in-house fleet workshops, dealerships and independents. Salaries have risen accordingly as these skilled occupations have gained a ‘write your own cheque’ rarity value. According to Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) vehicle technicians’ pay increased by 5.5% in the six months to October 2022, and advertised salaries for tyre, exhaust and windscreen fitters grew by 21.3% between 2019 and 2022. 

The technician shortage is particularly acute for heavier commercial vehicles, and the IMI predicts a critical shortage of technicians for electric vehicles, and for the advanced driver assistance (ADAS) technologies which are now being built into new vehicles. A Social Market Foundation report echoes this, saying that the UK will lack by 25,000 qualified EV technicians by 2030. 

Typically, technician apprenticeships take three years to complete, so although starter numbers are encouraging, the industry will need help in the short-term managing this critical skills gaps, possibly from the Shortage Occupations List. 

The IMI calculates 178,038 new recruits will be needed by 2031 to replace those leaving the retail automotive sector due to retirement, migration and occupational mobility. 

Meanwhile, The ONS Services Producer Price Inflation Time Series (SPPI) shows vehicle maintenance and repair climbing from 115.6 in 2021 to 122.54 in 2022. Data analysis by Intelligent Motoring revealed repair costs to have risen 33% from the first six months of 2021, compared to the first six months of 2022. 

With inflation only just dropping below 10% in April 2023, these price rises have continued.  

Director of Valuations at cap hpi, Derren Martin, said, “Used car prices have risen enormously over the past two years, and continued strong in the first three months of 2023. The first indications of marginally lower prices were apparent through April and May.”  

Martin will address many of the issues facing insurers and the need for up- to-date, dynamic valuations information at ARC360’s specialist EV event 2023 on 4 July at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Coventry. 

The factors affecting claims value don’t stop there. Parts shortages, initially fuelled by a lack of semiconductors, Brexit delays and the closure of much manufacturing during the Covid pandemic, caused repair backlogs, slow turnaround for garages, and extra time off road for vehicles.  

The delay in getting vehicles fixed and back to their owners can also bump up claim value through the increased need for hire vehicles. Courtesy car availability has been a contentious issue for some months, with hire costs rising steeply – to the extent that Autocar recently reported that courtesy car costs were driving up total loss claims, as insurers found it cheaper to write off vehicles than to repair them. 

All this is occurring against the backdrop of rising interest rates and rising energy costs, both of which are problematic for automotive businesses. The cost-of-living impacts upon motorists may also potentially affect servicing, maintenance and MOT compliance, which, as well as damaging the repairer’s bottom line, some commentators believe to be a road safety threat, potentially resulting in a greater number of claims. 

Solera Audatex Sales Director, Neil Garret said, “It is a particularly challenging and uncertain time for insurers, with repair capabilities, cost inflation, skillset requirements, repairability and the availability of replacement vehicles just a few of the issues affecting both claims cost and the speed of claims resolution. At Audatex we focus on streamlining and facilitating the journey for claims assessor and bodyshop, enhancing and speeding their tasks with AI capability, and ensuring the fastest and most profitable job turnaround.” 

As an integrated claims management platform, bringing together all stakeholders in the claims journey, Solera Audatex is uniquely placed to help motorist, insurer and bodyshop to achieve the most efficient and cost-effective resolution to claims, while improving customer satisfaction and lowering carbon impact.  

Audatex’s innovative cost mitigation begins at FNOL. Qapter guides the motorist to capture vehicle imagery immediately, enabling an AI preliminary damage estimate, informed by up-to-date claims data from Audatex and valuations from cap hpi.  

Our AI Estimating module identifies the parts best repaired rather than replaced and, for necessary replacements, bodyshops are able to source the parts required, whether OEM, non-OEM or ‘green’ parts.  

In all, Solera improves business turnaround for the bodyshop, cuts cost for the insurer, and improves customer satisfaction.  

The moment of a claim is often regarded as the moment of truth for insurers, but in order to handle them safely, effectively and efficiently, many moving parts in the supply chain need to work together. 

Here, Entegral, CAPS, Solera and BHR Assist Insurance Services share their insights into how best to manage claims for the benefit of everyone – not least the customer. 

Olly Chambers, AVP of sales and operations at Entegral

“The digital experience has become a key element in driving the customer service and efficiency of a motor claim by providing every stakeholder with the same data and version of events.

“Drivers want to know when their vehicle will be ready. Repairers want to ensure they’re making best use of capacity and resources. Insurers want greater transparency and efficiency so they can create a better customer experience and manage claims costs.

“An optimal workflow that connects everyone involved in the claim, including salvage companies, parts providers and replacement vehicle providers, is essential and technology sits at the heart of those connections.

“When done right, we see better communication and collaboration between insurers, OEMs, bodyshops and all the other industry professionals, leading to a far smoother process.

“The need for labour-intensive phone calls and rekeying to update other suppliers and their technology systems is far reduced. All the data is available at the touch of a button and integrates with their existing software and management systems.

“It creates smoother processes that enhance the customer experience. Better image capture allows for quicker decisions. The replacement car company can automatically extend rental periods if required. Reliable aggregated data ensures everyone sees the same information.

“The digital journey reduces costs and admin. It creates a single connected and secure ecosystem. It facilitates a self-service experience for the driver, who can just log on to their account and see how their repair is progressing.

“Our conversations with bodyshops and other providers in the supply chain continually bring up the need for better operational efficiency as well as data transparency. The industry has progressed but there is scope for greater automation.

“Modular systems can fit around existing technology platforms. They automate processes that have historically been done manually without the need to change existing solutions and suppliers.

“Beyond that, they enable a more sophisticated digital experience that is more relevant to today’s tech-savvy customer.”

Kevern Thompson, Commercial Manager, CAPS 

Automation means everybody wins, from the insurer to the bodyshop to the customer. 

Digital connectivity can bring efficiencies to all connected parties by removing the manual resource-driven processes, but it’s critical we are sharing the same information so there is a single version of the truth. 

We continue to make available the CAPS platform for all to connect and communicate with each other, and the reason we re-platformed CAPS (V3) was to facilitate greater communication amongst the supply chain. Unfortunately, there are some that continue to control communication by limiting connectivity, which strangles the open connectivity that the industry needs to constantly remain agile. 

But using the correct systems and connectivity to support automated communications helps both insurer and bodyshop to become more efficient because the quality of data and communication in addition to the speed of updates when using CAPS removes friction. 

Speed of communication also gives businesses a competitive advantage and one area that we’ve seen develop is the increased requests for more businesses to develop their digital strategy, to utilise and consume a wider array of data fields and then use the data for analytics. We’ve seen this across the entire CAPS community. 

We’ve also seen an increased demand by insurers and work providers asking for the names of bodyshops who are CAPS-connected, and bodyshops wanting to know which insurers use CAPS, with all parties clearly benefitting from the automated communication and the efficiencies gained by using The CAPS Common Platform. 

Andrew Barratclough MBA, VP Partnerships, Director Global, Solera 

Managing claims and then maximising them means first of all reducing collisions, and then leveraging the latest technology to accelerate claims when collisions to occur. 

Solera Mentor by eDriving is an app that does both these things. It reduces the number of claims in the first place by improving driver behaviour through more than 300 micro training modules alongside driver ratings, rewards and gamification. 

But when there is a claim it makes every minute count by sharing data between everyone, so there are no challenges or delays because it’s all within a single family on a single platform. The average cost of motor claims in the UK has risen from £1,387 in 2013 to £2,485 last year, so greater efficiency really matters. 

Embedded within the app, Automatic Collision Detection technology instantly detects collisions and automatically informs both the insurer and, where necessary, the emergency services.  

Boasting 100% detection of crashes over 30mph, 98.7% detection of crashes between 10-30mph plus a 99.1% suppression of false positive detections, the technology is able to accurately record the nature of the collision and then steer accurate triage through the Driver Event Reporting page. 

Driver Event Reporting includes a series of incident-specific fields for the driver to fill in, with photo evidence requested using Guided Image Capture. 

Based on telematics data captured during the incident, alongside information provided by the driver and the accompanying images, Mentor is able to assess the vehicle damage and produce a pre-estimate within just three minutes, with a final estimate taking typically 10-12 minutes. 

Andrew said, “Motor insurance is outstripping inflation. During a cost-of-living crisis, we need to make sure it is not adding to our customer’s burdens. Mentor is an immediate opportunity to increase automation and reduce cycles time, and therefore cost.” 

BHR Assist Insurance Services, Carl Clavering, Owner and Managing Director 

We are using technology to provide insurers with better data earlier in the process, helping them negotiate and settle claims without the need for litigation. 

We provide a holistic, transformational approach to credit hire services. Many insurers consider the use of BHR data and statements too expensive to adopt across the full portfolio of work so use BHR statements only at the litigation stage. 

But with our disruptive software, costing models and service delivery speed, we allow the insurer to use BHR data more proactively to transform their credit hire processes and their claims approach. Our models are highly cost-effective and the processes in place mean that the clients can reduce the time claims handlers spend on each claim. 

We offer a range of bespoke services to suit the needs of our clients, from a simple snapshot of data to identify potential claims savings, through to a full outsourced credit hire claims service. 

But to help our clients identify the benefits, BHR Assist Audit allows insurers to complete an objective review of their credit hire claims handling service, and we can support the leadership teams to identify process improvements, while BHR Assist Pilot is a three-month pilot run on a comparative basis with existing claims handling approach. We will then provide an objective review identifying the benefits and cost and efficiency improvements. 

The outcomes are reduction in claims spend and litigation costs, minimised touch time from claims handlers, and reduced claims elapsed settlement times. 

Automotive clients use BHR as a last resort; our message to them is to use it from the moment an incident takes place so that we provide the claimant with the best information available and help them make the right choices.