Digital environments improve efficiency in bodywork accident management

This is the main conclusion of a recent “Auto Insurance Conference” organized by ICEA, the Association for the Cooperative Research between Insurance Companies and Pension Funds in Spain, called “New business approach for Auto Insurance. Automation and Artificial Intelligence”. The new digital platforms, open and collaborative, provide efficiency to everyone involved in the management of Auto accidents, from the garage to the insurance company.

According to the latest surveys carried out amongst insurance companies executives, more than 80% of the ones working in the Auto sector want to move forward in their digital transformation process, by incorporating into their strategy not only their clients, as they were doing until now, but also their suppliers. This was evident in the recent Auto Insurance Conference organized by ICEA: “The efficient management of an accident requires using technological platforms, powerful digital environments, open and flexible, which promote the cooperation between the sectors involved, while making the most of elements such as Big Data or Artificial Intelligence”.

In this regard, the benefits and functionalities of these digital environments were highlighted during the meeting. These environments join the abilities of companies specialized in damage valuation with technological partners, experts in Artificial Intelligence, in order to improve the accident management processes, with a higher automation. The result: a more agile accident management, less costly and with more advantages for bodyshops, insurers and the rest involved.

The collaboration with other participants, especially the “insurtech”, has become a trend and a necessity for the insurers to advance in their digitalization process. Insurance companies generate a lot of data, but lack the capacity to manage all of it. However, the“insurtech” companies have that capacity. IT departments are often overwhelmed, not able to handle all the internal requests that they receive. This is why the IA and automation specialists attending the ICEA Conference consider it more operative that these departments rely on external collaborators. This way, they can access the needed solutions, while reducing their risks.

The new technologies applied to accident management are going to place the client at the center again, in order to give him/her a differential value. “Car insurance could be a commodity because every driver needs insurance. It is essential to change the relation with the client, think about him/her, by not only offering insurance coverage, but also an added value, a service, a differential value that can be seen as such”. In this regard, the emphasis was that digitalization is here to stay and is not an option anymore, because it provides, as never before, value to the client and efficiency for the whole system. New technologies such as Artificial Intelligence or taking advantage of data are going to set the pace. A clear example is the pay per use, the insurance connected to it, or the new mobility systems.