Change Brings Innovation
We know that the collection, storage, and use of huge amounts of data will have a profound effect on the automotive insurance industry, as well as OEMs and collision repairers. Collectively, we do ourselves no favors by pretending massive change doesn’t exist, or hoping someone else will figure it out.
Together, all of us in the automotive industry are on a journey. The technologies and platforms in which we invest — along with the partners we choose — will be what makes us industry leaders, or also-rans. We must build for the future.
Living Services, Liquid Expectations
Why is it so critical to get the technology right? Because your customers will expect it. An optimal customer experience enabled by technology no longer is a benefit, it is the minimum investment allowed.
According to a recent report from Accenture, “living services” is the coming together of two ideas:
1) The Digitization of Everything, in which mundane items are digitized in a way that causes us to change the way we interact with them.
2) Liquid Expectations, when a person has a pleasant, satisfying or frictionless experience, and begins to expect that same kind of experience everywhere, transferring that new expectation across industry barriers.
So, how are you responding to your customers’ liquid expectations? How are you helping them on their journey back into a safe and healthy vehicle? Who are your partners?
At CCC, we’re responding in two key ways:
1) We recognize that mobility is here to stay, that the DNA of design must be built around easy, intuitive experiences for the consumer.
2) The only way to bring life into these experiences is through artificial intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence for the Win
We’re designing our solutions to enable the consumer to control the entire claims process with just a few clicks. And what makes this process feel so natural actually is artificial: Artificial Intelligence (AI).
We experience AI every day when we interact with Google, Amazon or Netflix. When those companies know what we want before we do, it is AI working in the background. Today, using AI, we can — with a high degree of accuracy — determine if a vehicle is repairable or a total loss, with a single photo. When you layer data about the vehicle pre-accident, injury data and historical APD claims data, we can determine the actual repair cost, the speed of the accident and what injuries — if any — were likely to have occurred. And, with a mix of enabling technologies, data, and insights, we can help you understand and predict how changes in driving behavior, gas prices and vehicle mix will impact frequency, severity, and your financials.
AI also changes your customers’ journey. They can control the entire claims process with a few clicks. With AI and photo analytics, the consumer will be able to instantly initiate a claim, which saves money and resources, and speeds up the process for everyone.
And the customer’s liquid expectations carry over to the repair process, too. When the customer arrives at a repair facility, he expects continuity in that experience. He doesn’t want to fill out a piece of paper on a clipboard. He expects a check-in process in which he walks up to a kiosk and enters a few pieces of information.
In the future, we will extend that functionality earlier in the process, allowing the customer to check in from his mobile device before he arrives at the shop. The system will notify the estimator, who will meet the customer in the lobby. They’ll head out to the car, where the estimator will scan the vehicle identification number. At that point, the estimator may be notified that there is a critical recall that has not yet been addressed for this vehicle. He’ll make arrangements with that customer to address the recall once the repairs are complete.
The Connected Car
So, who else benefits from the connected car and AI? With the right team, the right partnerships, and the right technology, the connected car can deliver benefits to everyone. For insurers, usage based models will prevail, OEMs will have a direct link to customers to reinforce and extend their brand, and repair shops will be able to quickly diagnose and repair a vehicle within OEM guidelines. But, again, the customer may benefit most of all.
Families with teenage drivers will be able to sign up for usage based insurance that sets premiums based upon actual driving behavior and score cards. In the event of an accident, the car knows the severity of the accident, the primary direction of force, airbag deployment and a variety of other
factors. The car assesses whether injuries are likely and alerts emergency services automatically. Roadside assistance is immediately dispatched to retrieve the vehicle and bring it to a preferred repair location. Again, the consumer’s liquid expectations dictate that every step of this process is seamless, frictionless, and effortless.
It’s been said that connected cars are approaching biological levels of complexity. This complexity affects all of us, and it can be daunting. But the good news is, CCC brings more than 30 years of history, relationships and technology to bear on making your business better. What inspires us is making this complex journey easy for everyone.
The Journey Ahead: Building for Your Future
All successful journeys include ambitious, curious, determined leaders driven to succeed, driven to do what hasn’t been done, to know what isn’t yet known. They want to make a difference in their communities and their world. They — along with their partners and teams — want to find a way to do something better, faster or altogether different than what existed. They are not afraid of the future … they want to design the future!
In today’s climate, we must not hesitate. We must strive to do tremendous things in the world, things that have never been done. To shape the future, we must think and behave differently.
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