As the trend of customizing electronics systems in automobiles expands, so does the number of claims. According to CCC Information Services Inc., in 2004, an estimated 400,000 claims involving mobile electronics were filed. To help expedite these claims, CCC signed an agreement with First Choice Solutions (FCS), a provider of mobile-electronics claims-handling technology and services to the insurance industry. This is the second such vendor agreement for CCC within the claims marketplace for mobile electronics. CCC supplies information technology software and services to the auto-claims and collision-repair industries.

Under the agreement, CCC's customers will send claims for mobile electronic systems to FCS via CCC Autoverse Claim Management--CCC's Web solution designed to dispatch, receive, review, and conclude the process of a claim. Users can access an electronic claim folder, giving them a common area in which to enter, retrieve, and augment pertinent information relating to the claim.

Following receipt of the claim, FCS contacts the insured to verify the correct make and model of the mobile electronic equipment through its proprietary WebCars estimating technology. WebCars tracks each electronic component model by its features and matches it to a newer model of equal features to determine a replacement. FCS also has access to many mobile-electronics manufacturers. Once the replacement equipment is determined, FCS provides installation options through a nationwide network of more than 3,000 installation facilities.